Grey's Girl
by IAmTheRevelation
Summary: The adopted daughter of Christian Grey, Charlotte had some big shoes to fill. She has carefully trained herself to mirror the man, but a lifetime of terror is tormenting her. With trust issues, how will she accept Ana and can she elude her past before it finds her?
1. Chapter 1

**So...I have recently discovered Fifty Shades of Grey. I was finally deemed "old enough" to watch the movie and read the book. So...out of my imagination this kind of came up.**

 **This will be rated T...just for some language and sexual reference…also because I can't write a romance scene to save my life.**

 **I hope you all like this!**

* * *

Her relationship with Christian Grey is a peculiar one.

She'd met him when she was younger- ten, perhaps. The multi billionaire was on a run and she slammed into him while she was running across Seattle like a crazed animal. She was covered in blood and beaten. She was running from a bad past and it was trying to catch up with her quickly.

But Christian ended all that. A man of high standing power, Christian Grey made sure she was well taken care of. He worked the system and soon, she was Charlotte Grey. He said he didn't trust just anyone to take care of her and decided it was better he had full responsibility of her.

But Charlotte realized that the two of them had more in common than she could ever comprehend. Both come from horrific backgrounds and have trust issues of epic proportions. They somehow worked around it- Christian became a father figure to her and Charlotte opened up parts of him no one would ever see.

Her alarm goes off, pulling her from an uneasy sleep. The previous night wasn't great- with it came nightmares and memories best forgotten. She stayed awake for the better part of the night, pacing the halls in order for her to soothe herself. She didn't dare wake Christian. She's not the scared little girl who could barely sleep in the dark anymore. She's fifteen now. There isn't time for her to act like a child.

Charlotte turns off the alarm, stumbling from bed. The blond stumbles from her room and down the hallway, going to wake up her sleeping guardian. Usually they wake up about the same time and Christian will drop her off at school on his way to work.

Charlotte beats on the door of Christian's room. "Christian, get up!" Inside she hears a groan and she knows he didn't fall asleep until last night.

His voice comes through the door. "Just five minutes, Char! Please?"

Charlotte chuckles. Usually he has this issue with her, not the other way around. "Come on, it's six and we gotta roll out of here at seven-thirty!" Another groan. "Christian, get your sorry butt out of bed!"

When he doesn't emerge she throws open his door. "Father, I said get up!" She rarely calls him "Father" or "Daddy" or anything. She'll do it if she's trying to grab his attention or she screams it into the darkness when there are nightmares terrorizing her.

Christian grumbles, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. "Fine." The man rises, taming his hair. Charlotte smiles at her adoptive father and Christian returns the smile. She's met with a hug from the man and he kisses her head per the morning ritual.

"Good morning," Christian mumbles tiredly.

"Morning," Charlotte yawns, hugging her guardian. She looks up at him with tired grey eyes. People say that she could pass as his if it wasn't for her age. She has big, grey eyes and looks that could make a person's heart stop. She has taken on his personality in some sense. From living with him so long, she's adapted his smile and the eye rolling.

Christian releases her, smiling. Then comes the frown when he sees the dark bags beneath her eyes. "How long did you sleep?"

"Enough," Charlotte answers. "Nothing a little makeup and coffee can't fix."

Christian smooths her blonde hair. "You need to take the pills, Char."

"No," Charlotte quips. She hates taking the sleeping pills. She might do it out of desperation every now and then, but she hardly touches the orange bottle tucked inside her desk drawer. They make the nightmares worse. Christian frowns. He knows the weight she carries. She was beaten and abused as a child. Her mother hated her; her father was evil and neglectful. Both were addicts and when they ran out of things to sell for drugs, she was next. Those were the worst years of her life. She fought to survive.

"Go take a shower," Christian says. "I'll have Ms. Jones make breakfast. Anything you want?"

"Pancakes," Charlotte says. "And bacon."

"I'll put your order in!" Christian bellows from the hallway.

Catching stumbles into her bathroom, starting a shower quickly. The water is hot enough to her likings and she strips, stepping inside. The water begins to wash away the impurities, making her clean. She scrubs herself as if she can wipe away the scars of the past. The scars are what make her monstrous and ugly. She doesn't remember seeing herself without burns from cigarettes or bruises from an angry fist or a belt raining lashes.

She dresses after drying off, deciding to dress to impress. If there was one thing Christian could do was help her pick out clothes. Although he wanted her to dress like a Puritan at first, he reluctantly let her wear other clothes. He even gave opinions on them and, of course, she wouldn't ever wear something revealing. She was petrified of people seeing her body. She hates wandering eyes and curious hands.

Charlotte pulls a grey dress on. Grey is her color- Christian says it perfectly describes her personality to tease her. Over her shoulders is a small jacket to hide the scarring on her upper arms and shoulders.

She makes her hair fall in curls and applies enough concealer to hide the dark bags beneath her eyes. She prefers to wear minimal makeup- people say she's stunning enough without it- but she makes those grey eyes pop with a touch of eyeliner.

After, Charlotte treks to the kitchen to see Christian sitting at the island, eating a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. Next to him is a plate filled with the same items and a cup of coffee to accompany the food.

Breakfast is spent talking about everything and nothing. She talks about school and Christian work. Christian relentlessly questions her over a boy and the threat of a food fight lingers in the air when Katherine throws a grape at him.

Upon leaving, Christian helps Charlotte slide into her jacket and hands her her backpack with some protest from her. They descend the stairs to see Taylor waiting at the car, standing at the back door.

"Good morning, Miss Grey."

Charlotte smiles. "Good morning, Taylor." The man gives her a peck on the cheek and a hug, tucking her in the back seat with Christian sitting in the passenger's seat.

The drive is quiet. The three ride in comfortable silence to the school Charlotte attends. She tested into it with flying colors although she never had any formal schooling as a girl.

"Have a good day at school, sweetheart," Christian says. He squeezes her knee and Charlotte smiles.

"Bye, Christian," Charlotte says, grabbing her bag and takes off after climbing out of the car. She sighs- the school is the bane of her existence. However, there are a few people who make this hellhole worthwhile: Victoria Ross, Thomas James, and Lillian King. All of them have been been best friends since Charlotte came to the school.

Charlotte is lifted off the ground, strong arms around her waist. Charlotte laughs in delight, hugging her captor- Thomas. "Hey, Tom."

"Hi, Charlie," Thomas says, hugging the girl incredibly tightly.

From the car comes a cough. "Get your hands off my child." Christian glares with cold grey eyes. Thomas gently places Charlotte on her feet, smiling sheepishly.

"Morning, Mr. Grey," Thomas says, waving.

Christian only glares. "Quit romancing my daughter." Then Christian smiles. "Have an excellent day at school, Charlotte. I'll have Taylor pick you up."

"Bye, Christian," Charlotte says. Christian waves and rolls up his window, the car pulling from the school.

Thomas looks at Charlotte with a wary expression. "Why is your dad so scary?"

"He's not scary," Charlotte says. "He's a dad! He isn't going to root you on and let you grab all over me."

Thomas laughs and out of nowhere comes Victoria and Lillian, damn near knocking her over. Charlotte laughs at them, hugging the two girls.

"So was Mr. Grey scaring Thomas here with his wicked good looks?" Lillian asks, her lips curving into a smile.

"You're gross," Charlotte says. "That's my dad."

Victoria laughs. "Well, when I become of age, I'm going to be your new stepmom."

"You people are gross!" Charlotte bellows, trekking into the school with her friends behind her.

…

School went by as usual- stupid boys, mean girls, and those who mingle in between the stupidity and the bitchiness. Most everyone reveres her because she is the daughter of the Christian Grey. They part for Charlotte like the Red Sea parted for Moses when she walks down the hall. Girls whisper how they want to be her; boys want her. Charlotte doesn't take joy in that- being treated like royalty because she's Christian Grey's kid.

In fact, that's all she's known as amongst some people.

" _Aren't you Christian's daughter?"_

 _"Your dad is Mr. Grey?"_

 _"You're Grey's girl, right?"_

She gets sick of it sometimes- she has a name. But she does realize that she has big shoes to fill because of Christian. She dresses like him; she tries to posses his wit and smartness; she tries to carry his confident demeanor if she goes anywhere.

She stands at the curb with Thomas. Taylor will come zooming in any second, taking her to GEH where she'll spend the rest of the day in Christian's office. She wants to learn business for Christian- one day she will own GEH and the man's grooming her for the job. So she watches how he handles most of the meetings and helps with some financial things he'll allow her to jump in on.

Charlotte wants him to be proud of her. It's all she's ever wanted. Yes, he takes pride in her. She's super smart and she's wise beyond her years, but she wants Christian to be proud of her.

"Anything interesting going on next weekend?" Thomas asks.

Charlotte looks up at him. "Excuse me?"

"Do you have any plans?" Thomas asks.

"Are you implying that we should go out?" Charlotte asks. The idea is kind of bewildering to her. Thomas and her are super close- they always have been. Thomas isn't bad looking; he had dark locks and eyes like gold. His smile could melt the coldest heart.

Thomas blushes. Charlotte laughs. "Well...yes. We can go to that old ice cream shop and I'll take you to the movies."

It's Charlotte's turn to blush. She likes Thomas, but there's a constant fear inside her that she'll be hurt. But Thomas wouldn't hurt her. "If I can talk my father into it…"

Thomas smiles and Charlotte grins at him. She thinks for a moment about Christian and what he'd do if she asked if she could accompany Thomas out. First, he'd flip his shit; second, he'd have a heart attack; third, he'd go in screaming hysterics that no little bastard would have his little girl.

But that's just the bare minimum of what Christian Grey could do.

"Miss Grey, we must be going! I don't want to return you to your father sopping wet." Charlotte turns her face to Taylor's voice and she notes that it's become a slight drizzle and more rain is to ensue.

Charlotte looks at Thomas. "I'll see you Monday, Tom."

"Bye, Char," Thomas says, pecking Charlotte on the cheek. Charlotte retreats after squeezing Thomas' hand, running to escape the torrential downpour that is now coming.

Taylor looks at her with inquisitive eyes. "Need I tell your father about that young man, Miss Grey?"

Charlotte looks at Taylor. "You wouldn't. You know how he is."

Taylor laughs. "Teasing, Miss Grey. It will be our dirty secret?"

Charlotte can only laugh as they set off for GEH.

…

"Afternoon, Miss Grey."

Charlotte looks at the receptionist. She's a blond woman with a fake smile and she's heard awful things come from that woman's mouth about her and Christian.

Charlotte trains her features to mimic Christian's. "Hello, Elizabeth. I trust my father's in his office?"

"He is," she responds. "Shall I send for something for you? A drink or something?"

"No, thank you," Charlotte responds. She carries herself to Christian's office, knocking softly before opening the door. She peeks her head in to see the man sitting with a young woman.

"Am I interrupting?" Charlotte asks.

Christian smiles. "No. We were just talking about you."

"Good things, I hope," Charlotte says, stepping into Christian's office. There's a quiet chuckle from Christian and a bewildered look from the woman. "She's staring at me like I'm an axe murderer."

The woman stutters. "You're real."

"I'd hope so," Charlotte says. She outstretches her hand, smiling her small smile like Christian's. "It's a pleasure. I'm Charlotte Grey."

The woman takes her hand, shaking. "Anastasia Steele. I'm here to interview your...father?"

"Formally, yes," Charlotte says. "But he's more of an annoying brother that has custody of me and can tell me what to do."

Christian scoffs. "You remember that, brat."

"I love you, Father," Charlotte says.

Christian rolls his eyes. "I bet you do."

Anastasia laughs, calling a smile to Charlotte's face. The blonde sits in a chair after tucking her bag away, adjusting her jacket on her shoulders. Interviewers have tried their damndest to see the horrific scars covering her body and they've succeeded. Pictures made their way online and Christian was outraged. He made the interviewers' lives hell.

"What's been discussed?" Charlotte asks.

"Your schooling…your future. The fact you're not a figment of society's imagination." Yes- for five years, rumors have floated in the air of Christian Grey adopting a girl. Paparazzi were up their asses for weeks trying to take pictures of her, but Christian wouldn't allow it. Charlotte was perfectly happy with the whole thing- she didn't want to be put on display.

Charlotte only smiles. "Well, here I am."

Anastasia leans forwards, seemingly interested. "If you don't mind, I do have some questions. You can answer the questions of your choosing. Be mindful that I didn't write these."

Charlotte looks at Christian, lifting an eyebrow. He only smiles and Charlotte looks back to Anastasia. "Whenever you're ready, Miss Steele."

Anastasia smiles and looks down at the papers resting in her lap, pressing play on the recorder. "Exactly how long have you lived with Mr. Grey?"

"Five years," Charlotte responds. "I was ten when Christian made the notion to officially keep me as his own."

"What do you plan to do after your schooling? Do you plan to go to college or stay in the business profession?"

Charlotte chuckles, looking to Christian. The man nods softly, offering her a smile. "Grey Enterprises is my life- my future. Some time ago, I'd asked Christian as to why he'd want me to run this place. Why wouldn't he save it for a child of his own flesh and blood?"

"There's no one whom I trust more than you," Christian says. "You know how this place operates."

Anastasia grins. "So you're going to run GEH when you're an adult?"

"I'm specifically groomed for the job. I'm not sure I could do anything else," Charlotte says, making the two laugh.

There are a few questions more she answers, but the last one sends chills down her spine.

"What was your life like...before Mr. Grey?"

Her stomach churns and she becomes dizzy. She feels Christian's hand on her arm, offering comfort and protection. It all comes rushing back at her- the beatings, the neglect. She was made to do things that no child should ever do.

There's a soft shake that pulls her out of her own head. "Charlotte? Hey, it's okay. Breathe. You have to breathe."

Christian is sitting close, stroking her hair gently. "You okay?"

Charlotte nods. Her voice emerges broken and hoarse. "I'm fine." She looks at Anastasia who watches with a terrified expression, mouth covered.

"Charlotte... I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," Charlotte says. "There could have been worse reactions." The blonde girl stands, eager to escape the room. "I'm going to excuse myself… It was a pleasure, Miss Steele."

Before much else is said, Charlotte leaves. She has to escape or else all hell will break loose. She knows that Christian won't follow- it's best to let her cool down a little and to get a better grip on reality before bombarding her.

A few blocks later, she's sitting in a park. The chilly air makes it a bit better for her, making her aware. The fine drizzle falling refreshes her.

It was a day like this that Christian found her. The sky was dark with ominous clouds that promised rain. You could smell rain and a car exhaust and other smells Seattle only held.

 _She'd been running. If she didn't hide, Peter would be sure to find her. He beat her to an inch of her life today and the promise of other things would come. He left to get something and, when she was sure that he was gone, she flew out of the dingy apartment in a mad dash._

 _Blood was soaked in her clothes and she had open wounds on her arms. Her entire face was purple and black. She couldn't breathe because she forgot her damn inhaler and her ribs were broken._

 _She slammed into a body when she looked behind her. She went flying to the ground and she whimpered when she landed on her wrist._

 _"Damn it, kid! Watch where you're…" His voice cut off when he saw her. "Oh, shit. Who did this to you?" He pulled her up, righting her on her tremble legs._

 _Charlotte looked up at him, drying tears unsuccessfully. She was sobbing so badly she couldn't speak. The man was definitely angry as he tried to stop the bleeding on her head with a handkerchief._

 _"Come on, we're going to the hospital," he gushed, ripping off his jacket to tuck around her._

 _It was the last thing she could remember before the pavement came swiveling towards her face_.

The rest would be history. He legally adopted her after a month and she's lived with him since, trying her damndest to be just like him. She wanted to be just like Christian Grey.

So far, the dream is a reality. She acts like him, dresses like him. Anything to gain his approval.

And that's all she's ever wanted- to have someone be proud of her and what she can do. Christian is proud of her- sometimes he won't shut up if she brings home straight As and does something at the office he likes.

She loves her father- she really does. She bends over backwards to please the man.

Charlotte treks back to Grey Enterprises after calming down. Outside is Christian, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"Are you okay?" Christian asks.

Charlotte smiles sadly. "I'm going to be fine."

Christian places his hand on her shoulder and then pulls her in for a hug. Charlotte hugs her adoptive father tightly. "I heard you scream last night. They're worse- the nightmares."

"I can't stop seeing him," Charlotte says, not uttering the name of the one who terrorized her so long ago.

Christian is the one to speak next. He presses his lips on her head in a gentle kiss. "He can't touch you ever again." He cradles her head against his shoulder and tucks her body against his. "I love you, Char."

"I love you, too, Christian."


	2. Chapter 2

" _What on earth are you doing?"_

Charlotte peeks over Christian's shoulder at his laptop, a bowl of chocolate ice cream in her hand. She narrows her eyes at the screen to the several questions written out. She nearly spits ice cream when she sees the question, " _Are you gay?"_

Christian looks up at her from his seat. "I am answering questions for Anastasia's friend."

Charlotte nods, referencing the question on screen. "So...are you gay?"

Christian's face runs blood red and Charlotte laughs in delight. She pulls a chair up to Christian's desk, watching as he types out his responses. Charlotte lifts another spoonful of ice cream to her mouth, lifting an eyebrow inquisitively.

"'How did you come to acquire Charlotte?'" Charlotte scoffs. "I'm a human being, not a damn dog."

Christian chuckles. "I got you from the pound." Then he gestures towards her bowl of ice cream. "Give me some!" Charlotte lifts the spoon to Christian's mouth and watches as he eats, grey hues turning back to the screen.

There's silence as they answer questions. Some are personal questions referring to both their personal lives and Charlotte chooses to answer some, leaving the dirtier details alone. Anything Pre-Christian doesn't fit into the questionnaire.

They sit in silence for a while. Charlotte watches Christian inquisitively, lifting an eyebrow. She can see the wheels in his head turning slowly.

"Charlotte...what do you think of Miss Steele?"

Charlotte pales. She knows exactly where Christian is going with this. In the course of the five years she's been here, she has seen fifteen women go in and out of this apartment. All of them were more or less gold diggers or they were borderline crazy.

Charlotte looks at Christian. "She won't last a week." She knows what this man does behind closed doors. She knows about the Dominant and Submissive shit he's into.

She won't judge, though. Everyone has their own personal preference. So happens Christian likes his women bound and dangling from the ceiling by handcuffs.

"I wasn't even going to mention that," Christian says.

"It was implied," Charlotte snaps. She hates the women Christian brings in. The last one went as far as blacking her eye. They were often very jealous over the way Christian was with her, but Charlotte was jealous of them.

That's _her_ dad. Nobody can have him.

Christian sighs heavily. The man comes to sit in front of her, their grey hues locking. He takes her hands, squeezing them gently.

"I know it's hard for you to have women around," Christian says. It is. Everything ties back to her neglectful mother and she's scared to have anyone around her like that. She's afraid that they'll take away the only good thing she has going for her. "And I wish I could make it easier for you. Fifteen women in and out of the apartment... I know that it bothers you."

Charlotte frowns, pulling her knees to her chest. "You have no idea."

"I'll try to work something out this time...given that she says yes," Christian promises. Last time she saw him of the mornings and nights and nothing else. His weekends were totally dedicated to these women. She eventually got so tired of it that she stayed with Elliot or Mia or her grandparents.

Then she's enveloped in Christian's arms. Charlotte hugs her father tightly, placing her chin on his shoulder. This man knows what he signed up for when he adopted her- she's clingy and needs attention. She doesn't share with others well.

"Listen to me," Christian says. He pulls back, cupping the blonde's face. "I'm not going to allow anyone to make you feel like you're going to lose me. I'm your father before I'm someone's lover. What have I said before, Charlotte?"

Charlotte smiles sadly. "We're a package deal."

"We're a package deal," Christian repeats. "They won't have you, they won't have me. You remember that."

Charlotte somehow is wound up in Christian's arms once more. He pulls back after a few moments, kissing her head.

"I love you, brat," Christian says.

Charlotte chuckles. "I love you, too."

After, Christian pulls her to her feet. The clock is creeping towards midnight. "Get some sleep," Christian says. "You and I are going to the office in the morning."

Charlotte chuckles darkly. "I'm nocturnal, Christian."

"Bullshit," Christian says. "Go to sleep, alright? Come get me if need me."

"I'm not ten anymore."

"You're still not too old for me to baby," Christian answers. The man smiles and squeezes her shoulders. Then he snatches up the bowl of chocolate ice cream on the desk.

Charlotte glares. "I was going to eat that!"

"Too much sugar before bed gives you nightmares," Christian says. "And it rots your teeth."

"Christian!"

"Good night, sweetheart!" Christian says, mounting the stairs to his bedroom.

Charlotte rolls her eyes, standing up. Better to go ahead and get some sleep while she can.

…

The nightmares continue relentlessly. Charlotte wakes screaming her lungs out once more, her body convulsing painfully as she wakes with the phantom pains of her body being ravaged. Christian came in almost immediately, trying to soothe her as she came down off the nightmare.

It's four in the morning and Christian is sitting in front of her on the bed. Charlotte is curled up in the center of her bed, knees drawn to her chest. She feels safe this way- like she can make herself so small that no one can bother her.

Christian takes a wet wash cloth, wiping her sweaty face gently. The coldness shocks her back to life, pulling her from her almost catatonic state.

"Everything okay?" Christian asks. He brings the cloth to rest on the back of her neck, cooling her overheated body.

"Yeah," Charlotte breathes out. The blond girl's voice is barely audible from the bout of screaming. Christian strokes her hair, smoothing it from her eyes. "You know the drill."

Christian sighs. "Do you want to come downstairs? I'll play the piano for you." The piano had a calming effect on both of them. Sleepless nights were spent filling the apartment with haunting music or, if Charlotte could manage, she'd sing.

Charlotte manages to roll herself off the bed, grabbing at the cloth on her neck to go back over her burning face. After, she throws it into the bathroom sink, following Christian downstairs. She finds the piano quickly, sitting down and Christian comes next to her, his fingers finding the correct keys to begin his melody.

He taught her to play the piano when she was eleven, although she strongly prefers the violin. But the piano seems to have some kind of soothing property over her.

Peace washes over her as Christian's music fills the air. The song sounds different from anything else he's played. His songs have hints of torment in them and Charlotte knows that his mind is just as screwed up as hers.

Both of them have had bad starts at life. Christian, tortured at a young age; her, beaten and abused since she took her first breath. Both have scars and memories that they can never get rid of, but they help each other through the terror.

Charlotte reaches out, pressing down on the keys to create a soft sound. Everything is soft and melodic. Fingers move over keys as she was expertly taught, the home filled with beautiful music instead of horrified screams.

…

They fell asleep on the couch. After all was calm, Charlotte decided she didn't want to go back upstairs so she and Christian set up camp in the living room.

They watched television for perhaps an hour- Charlotte threw in the suggestion of the Avengers and Christian wanted to watch Batman. After three games of rock-paper-scissors, they were watching the Hulk beat the hell out of Loki until they fell asleep.

She wakes up to the sound of a ringing phone. The blonde grumbles a moment, wriggling out of her blankets that she's tangled herself in. She reaches for her phone, answering the call sleepily.

"Grey," Charlotte says, yawning deeply.

" _Hey, Charlie._ " Charlotte smiles when she hears Thomas' voice on the end of the line, laying back in her pile of blankets. She takes note that she's laying sprawled on the floor, and Christian has the couch.

Charlotte sighs. "Now why are you calling so early in the morning?" Charlotte looks at the clock to see it's about seven-thirty.

Thomas' voice comes out hoarse. " _I was wondering if you wanted to come to breakfast with me? I'm buying."_

Charlotte chuckles, resting her head on her arm as she quietly talks to the boy. "You're eager to go out with me, huh?"

There's gentle laughter and Charlotte smiles. " _I_ _just can't stay away. No...really, do you_ want to go?"

"I'm sorry," Charlotte says. "I promised Dad I'd go to the office with him today. Maybe…I can sneak out for lunch?"

" _Sneaking out? How scandalous!"_ Thomas says dramatically. Charlotte laughs. " _I can do lunch. We can meet up at the diner near your dad's office."_

"Perfect," Charlotte says.

" _Now what about our date next week_?" Thomas asks. " _Does Christian know?"_

Charlotte pales, looking at her dad. "Umm...not yet. Taylor is the only person who knows and I've swore him to secrecy."

" _You haven't told him?!"_

"Do you want to die?" Charlotte asks. "Christian will skewer you like a kabob and throw you into the Pacific Ocean for the fish to eat!"

There's laughter at the comment. Then there's comfortable silence that follows, but it's broken by Thomas.

" _See you at eleven?_ " Thomas asks.

"I'll see you at eleven," Charlotte says. She hangs up with a soft goodbye and she rolls on her side to doze off again only to see Christian staring at her.

"I'll do worse than skewer his ass," Christian says.

Charlotte pales. "You heard all of that?"

"You're going to have lunch with him? I'm the only man in your life!"

"Dad!" Charlotte knows that this will go into an all-out war. Arguing with a Christian is like arguing with a wall- there's no getting anywhere with him.

"We're just going to that little diner around the corner for lunch. It's not like he's going to take me right there in the restaurant!"

There's an awkward silence. Charlotte doesn't know what to say to appease the man. Whether Thomas is a total gentleman or not, Christian is going to be an ass.

Christian coughs. "And I'm assuming that you want to go on a date with him?"

"You assume correctly."

"Shit." Christian sits up, looking down at Charlotte who sits cross-legged on the floor. "Well...you are fifteen. I can't expect you to not like boys right now. How about you substitute the lunch date for a walk in the park with Taylor so he can watch you?"

"Christian! This isn't a play date," Charlotte says. "And I don't need adult supervision."

"What if you two decide to hook up somewhere?"

"You know I'm afraid to have sex." She can't fathom to be romantically involved with someone. She was sexually assaulted and has no desire to face that fear for years to come.

"What if he throws you in the trunk of his car and drives away?"

"Now you're being ridiculous," Charlotte says.

"As a father you have to think of these scenarios," Christian quips. Charlotte laughs aloud, but Christian retaliates by hitting her with a pillow. "Stop growing up, Charlotte. It's not supposed to be like this."

"What?" Charlotte asks, sitting on the couch next to Christian.

"You're supposed to need me for everything," he says. "When I first got you, you could barely tie your shoes."

Charlotte rolls her eyes, hugging Christian. "You're my dad; I'm going to need you for a long time."

The man pulls her into his lap, making her squeal. "But you and I are going to have a serious talk about dating. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Sir," Charlotte says. Christian lets her up after kissing her cheek, sending her to shower and get ready to go to the office.

…

" _And you do not, under any circumstances, send him nudes!"_

"Christian!" Charlotte exclaims. She's been listening to him rant since they left the apartment. "What does that have to do with dating?!" She puts down the papers she was helping Christian fill out, narrowing her grey eyes.

"It fits in somewhere," Christian says, scribbling something down on the paper before him. "I'm being thorough in my job."

Charlotte rolls her eyes. Christian narrows his. Charlotte raises an eyebrow at him, tapping her pencil on the table. "What?"

"Don't roll your eyes. That kills me," Christian says.

Charlotte lowers her voice to mimic Christian. "It's rude."

Christian snorts. "Jackass."

They work while they argue. Christian somehow made her help with GEH's financing and she's balancing out profits and all of that stuff. Charlotte had always been good with handling money and that sort of thing- of course, Christian does look over everything to ensure she has worked everything out correctly.

"Are you sure that I can't bribe you into staying here with me?" Christian asks when ten-thirty rolls around.

Charlotte smiles. "I promised Thomas, Christian."

"You can't be tethered here by a hundred dollars?"

"Christian."

"What about two hundred?"

"Dad!"

Christian sighs heavily. The man reaches over, grasping Charlotte's small hand. "Fine. Just...don't grow up too quickly. Let me baby you just a while longer."

Charlotte smiles, standing up. She pecks Charlotte softly on the cheek, hugging him. "I won't, Christian. I'm going to go, okay?"

"Be back here by twelve or I'm going on a man hunt," Christian says.

"Back by twelve- got it. Do you want something brought back?"

"Surprise me," Christian says.

She narrowly escapes him, leaving with promises that she'd be back soon and that she wouldn't get "frisky" with Thomas. She starts down the sidewalk, going to the small restaurant where she sees Thomas already waiting, smiling his brilliant smile.

Charlotte smiles back, hugging her jacket over her shoulders. She feels her heart pounding out of her chest and butterflies come alive in her stomach at the sight of the boy.

As she nears him, one thought crosses her mind:

 _This is going to be fun._

* * *

 **You guys are seriously amazing- no joke. I expected no reviews, but I have six and I have 21 favorites and 46 followers! That totally made me feel a lot better about writing this story!**

 **I hope everyone enjoyed this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**No joke- you guys are simply the greatest! I love reading your reviews and seeing that so many have favorited and followed my story!**

 **I'm going to really start with everything next chapter, so bear with me- right now I'm establishing that father-daughter relationship between Christian and Charlotte.**

 **Hope everyone likes this.**

* * *

"He basically covered the whole nine yards?"

Charlotte gave Thomas a complete run-down of what took place before Christian set her loose. The boy was actually taken aback because Christian trusted him so little.

"That and more," Charlotte says, taking a drink of her iced tea. "He means business, Tom. He'll castrate you if he sees you doing something he doesn't like."

"My dad isn't like that with my sisters," Thomas says.

"My dad...he's something else," Charlotte says. They chuckle quietly, stealing glances at one another. "Don't put anything past him. He'll send someone to follow you or run background checks. He isn't afraid."

They make conversation of everything and anything. They talk about the sunny weather coming in for the weekend, their final exams for school…

Thomas' words come around a mouthful of a hamburger. "What'd Christian say about our date next week?" He seems mildly concerned about that- and he should be.

"He doesn't like it," Charlotte claims. "But I think he'll be okay after putting some thought into it."

Charlotte lightly pokes at her food, looking at the boy in front of her. He's handsome- way out of her league. It surprised her that he even asked her to be his friend at first. She was shy and awkward at first- she'd been home schooled until she caught up to be enrolled in private school. He sat with her because she was alone at her lunch table and along came others, but she couldn't ever wrap her mind around why Thomas would want anything to do with her...much less why he'd ask her out.

"Tom?"

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you pick me? There are girls prettier than me," Charlotte says. She feels foolish for asking the question as soon as it leaves her lips. But it's the truth. He could have asked Victoria or Lillian or another girl that wasn't as screwed up as her.

Thomas smiles his sweet smile. The dark haired boy leans across the table, those golden brown hues searching Charlotte's gray ones. "I like you better than I like Victoria or Lillian. You're very pretty- you have the most beautiful eyes… And you're the only girl who will stay up until three in the morning with me on the phone or come running if something goes wrong. I could go on and on, but I won't. I'll bore you to death."

Charlotte laughs softly. Thomas stretches his hand across the table and Charlotte meets him halfway, taking his hand. "You're more than a best friend to me, Charlotte."

The blonde squeezes his fingers, lacing them together. They smile at each other and warmth floods Charlotte's body.

"Good. Because I like you, too." Charlotte breaks out in a blush at her words, smiling at Thomas. The dark haired boy's face turns dark red, those golden hues shining.

They talk in comfortable silence, sharing jokes when she looks at the time on her phone: _11:50 p.m_ … She has to be back to GEH shortly or Christian will make a scene.

"As much as I hate to...I really have to go back," Charlotte says. "Christian gave me until twelve."

Thomas frowns. "An hour is hardly any time."

"We are going to see each other every day next week and we're going on a date Saturday. Suck it up," Charlotte says, making Thomas laugh. "You're so needy!"

"Let me pay for lunch and I'll walk you back," Thomas says, smiling that gorgeous smile of his. Charlotte nods, watching as Thomas stands to pay for lunch. Charlotte gathers her items- her clutch and the carry-out bag for Christian consisting of a hamburger and fries.

Thomas returns, but with another item: an ice cream cone. "I figured you'd like ice cream."

"You're going to make me fat," Charlotte laughs.

"You think I was going to let you eat this all by yourself?" Thomas asks. He licks the scoop of chocolate ice cream, leaving traces of it on his lip.

 _I want kiss him_ , Charlotte thinks. _That'd clean him up quickly._ She keeps the comment to herself, scowling herself for sounding like Christian. Instead of acting upon the thought, she wipes it away with her thumb and licks the ice cream away.

Thomas raises an eyebrow, grinning slightly. "Are you trying to seduce me?"

"I'm fifteen! How am I supposed to understand the art of seduction?"

"You'd be surprised."

"Shut up!"

They continue the banter all the way back to GEH. When they reach the building, Christian is standing in the doorway leading to the lobby.

"You barely made time, Charlotte Grace."

Thomas laughs and Charlotte smacks him. _Ah...usage of the middle name_ , Charlotte thinks. Christian rarely uses her middle name- he saves it for trying situations or he uses it to piss her off. Usually it's the latter. Charlotte despises her middle name. It was her birth mother's first name and she didn't want anything to do with that woman- hell, she tried to get Christian to legally change her name- but everyone jokes that it's an ode to Christian's mother whose name is Grace.

Charlotte gives him a look. "I was here before twelve!"

"By two minutes," he says.

"One does not eat lunch in thirty minutes, Christian Grey," Charlotte says. Then she holds up the bag containing his lunch. "May the argument be forgotten with some lunch?"

"Argument over," Christian says, taking the bag. He looks at Thomas, narrowing his gray hues. "You're Thomas?"

Thomas nods, face paling. "Yes, sir- Thomas James." He holds out his hand and Charlotte watches the exchange.

"I think this is cute- you being all smitten with my daughter," Christian says. Then Charlotte watches as Christian's grip tightens on Thomas. "Let me tell you something- I know people in high places. If you hurt my daughter, they'll be scraping you off the sidewalks. Do I make myself clear?"

Charlotte pales. "Daddy! Stop, you're scaring him?"

Christian looks at her, lifting an eyebrow. He stops after a moment, releasing the terrified boy. "Another thing: have her back on Saturday night by nine. Any later and I'm reporting you as a kidnapper and the cops will come after you. Am I understood?"

Thomas nods. "Crystal."

"Excellent. It was nice meeting you," Christian says.

Charlotte looks at Thomas. The boy is pale and she can tell that Christian scared the hell out of him. "What do you think?"

"You're right- he'll kill me," Thomas says. "But no matter...I'll call you later?"

Charlotte smiles. "Definitely. See you, Tom."

"Bye, Charlie." Thomas kisses her head, quickly evading the scene before Christian can start.

Christian huffs, crossing his arms. "That whacko thinks he's taking you… He's got another thing coming."

"Don't start, Christian," Charlotte says.

"Fine," Christian says. "Come, we're discussing more about dating safety."

…

The afternoon carries on to night, the father-daughter duo having since returned home. Christian went to his room sometime ago- Charlotte was glad because he couldn't stop talking about Thomas and everything, so it gave her a break from the perils of the upcoming sex talk Christian just wanted to have.

Charlotte wanders the apartment, gray eyes taking the place in like she's never seen it before. She remembers her first night here- the place was huge to her. The girl was delighted and Christian had laughed when she scattered up and down the stairs, seeing what the apartment offered.

She walks into the small library, eyes scanning the place. Charlotte often spends her nights here and Christian will carry her to bed if she falls asleep on the couch in here.

The blonde picks up her worn copy of A Tale of Two Cities. It has been a personal favorite for these last five years- the first book she learned to read.

 _Charlotte was frustrated- the words didn't make any sense and the worst part was that she knew that the words were there, but she couldn't understand them._

 _She walked into the study. The area was her favorite place to go if she got overwhelmed. She was only getting used to Ms. Jones and Taylor. It wasn't that Charlotte didn't like them, but they followed her around and she couldn't take prying eyes. Then she saw the abandoned copy of a book and picked it up, but nothing made sense. She didn't know what the words were and she was getting more upset by the second._

 _One thing led to another and Charlotte got fed up, bursting into tears and throwing the book. She was angry- she felt stupid and idiotic. She was ten-years-old and she couldn't even read! She couldn't spell her name. She hardly recognized the alphabet._

 _"Why are you crying?" Charlotte looked to see Christian. He wasn't supposed to be home until later that night. He knelt in front of her, trying to dry her salty tears._

 _Charlotte dried tears, sobbing slightly. "I feel stupid."_

 _"Now why do you say that?" Christian asked. "You're not stupid."_

 _Charlotte sniffled. "Peter told me so. He said I was too stupid to learn how to read and write." She felt that way, too. It embarrassed her that she was ten years of age and she couldn't write the letter A._

 _Christian frowned. He didn't like her talking about herself that way. "Honey, you're not stupid. You're a very intelligent girl. You learn new things everyday." Christian picked her up effortlessly- she's no bigger than she was when she seven, weighing a measly fifty pounds for her age. He sa_ t _the trembling Charlotte on his lap, stroking her hair._

 _"You know how to do so much. You learned how to tie your shoes and you can write numbers...you know so much," Christian said. "And you are the wisest little girl I've ever met."_

 _Charlotte smiled then. She reached to dry tears, but Christian beat her to it, pressing a kiss into her hair. Christian picked up the book she threw, showing it to her._

 _"Ahh… A Tale of Two Cities- this is good book," Christian says. Then he pauses, looking around the room. "Maybe you'd like something else- this isn't appealing to kids your age. I know that there's a copy of Harry Potter somewhere in here."_

 _Charlotte grabbed his arm, stopping him. "No, I want to read this one!"_

 _Christian had laughed. "Fine, fine. Before we're finished you'll be reading this to me."_

 _Charlotte smiled in delight and Christian pulled her close, beginning the book_.

" ** _It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…"_**

…

After all that, she was on her way to reading the most difficult books. Christian taught her to read effortlessly and she was reading things like Shakespeare and Jane Austen in six months with the way she was reading and writing. Her private tutor said she'd be reading on a college level before the year was up.

That was five years ago- now, she's taking college level classes and doing great things for a girl who learned to read and write such a short time ago. What pleased her more was that it made Christian happy.

She hears a voice from behind her. "I'm going to have to buy you a new copy. That thing's almost destroyed."

Charlotte looks at Christian, smiling. "It's my favorite book…" She could recite it by memory now.

"Along with Jane Eyre and twenty different others," Christian says. The man takes the book, grinning. Christian steps forwards, kissing the blonde's hair. "I'm proud of the young woman you've become."

Charlotte smiles, hugging Christian tight. Then, there's silence followed by a hefty cough and Christian is talking.

"So...about that talk we were having. I was about to get to the sex part, wasn't I?"

Charlotte pales, dropping her head on Christian's chest. "Dad, _no_."

"I will _not_ become a grandpa at age 27. I _refuse,_ Charlotte Grace Grey."

They argue back and forth a moment more before Charlotte is suddenly plucked off the ground, squealing when she has a view of the floor over Christian's shoulder.

"What are you doing?!" Charlotte asks, clutching Christian tightly.

She's given her answer when Christian unceremoniously dumps her on the couch, grabbing a book before sitting next to her. "I'm going to enjoy the last of your childhood and spend some time with my only child." He produces a random book, smiling. A copy of The Great Gatsby is in his hand.

Charlotte laughs, hugging herself close to Christian. As long as he's reading she might as well get comfortable.

She's going to be here for a while.


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! I got sick and everything, but I'm back!**

 **I hope everyone enjoys the chapter and thanks to everyone who had reviewed!**

* * *

 _The rest of the weekend goes the same._

Charlotte mainly stays with Christian, doing jobs around the office for him- he was pissed off for the better part of their Sunday morning because someone didn't do this or that, so she took the liberty of checking e-mails and managed to run off some paperwork for him so he wasn't running every which way.

They went home for lunch and made the rest of the day about them- meaning that they hoarded themselves in the living room with a six-pack of Coca-Cola and two bags of chips while watching the _Walking Dead_ and, to Christian's dismay, recordings of _American Horror Story_...their idea of the perfect Sunday.

Monday morning rolls around and they're both exhausted. Neither of them slept well the night before. Charlotte was up most of the night, pacing the hallways. Her skin still crawils from the nightmare and she was in the shower for an hour, scrubbing her skin raw to make her feel like she was clean instead of a girl made filthy by an evil man. Christian was up playing his haunting songs on the piano, the sounds beautifully tormenting. He played for hours on end until Charlotte found him sleeping restlessly on the couch.

Charlotte sits at the island, eating the large breakfast that Gail made. She's always hungry- since she was little she's known hunger. Before she came screeching into Christian's life, she was skin and bones. Even now she can't put on the weight she needs. Christian always presses the importance of eating, making sure she never goes hungry.

The blonde lifts a forkful of the ham and cheese omelet Gail made, looking at Christian who walks into the kitchen. The man takes his breakfast from Gail, issuing a thank you and sitting next to Charlotte.

"You don't have anything special to do at school today?" Christian asks, taking a drink of his coffee.

Charlotte lifts an eyebrow. "No. Why?" She sips at her juice, looking up at her father inquisitively. "Do you have something planned?"

"I'm picking you up early… I've promised Miss Steele a favor," Christian says. Charlotte instantly frowns, stabbing at her food. She doesn't want Christian to have anything to do with the woman- they're all the same way.

Christian rubs her back. "Don't get upset, Charlotte. It's just something to help her and her friends."

Charlotte pales. She knows that Christian can't stop his lifestyle for her on a whim, but why so many women? Where does his obsession end? Anastasia Steele is going to be another victim of Christian's charms and, when she can't take his lifestyle anymore, she's going to break. She's seen it before- them leave because of Christian having to have constant control. Hell, she's seen Christian's methods of punishment- corporal punishment with floggers and canes and a lot more.

" _Do you beat these women?"_ Charlotte had asked.

" _They wanted this,"_ Christian said. That was close to three years ago when she discovered the man's sexual tendencies and all that Dominant and Submissive mumbo jumbo.

There's a slight pause in the air and then, Christian whispers, "These women aren't your mother." Charlotte shivers, squeezing her eyes closed when the memory comes flooding back. The blonde takes a moment to calm herself, looking at Christian.

"I don't think you understand how hard it is," Charlotte says. It's impossible to trust anyone. In the beginning, Christian was hard to give her trust to. She saw her biological father in the man for the longest time before she could finally see Christian for who he really was. But her father didn't match up to the horror that her mother put her through. Her mother was the one who gave her to the monster when she was five- her mother sent her straight to hell.

She'll never trust another woman because of it.

"Just keep an open mind," Christian says. He bends down to her level, pecking her softly on the cheek. "I love you, Char."

Charlotte smiles, leaning against Christian a little. "I love you, too."

Christian settles in the seat next to her, pushing her plate towards her. "Finish eating. I'll grab your jacket while you get your bag."

Charlotte complies, cleaning her plate and has more coffee much to Christian's dismay- he says it will ruin her stomach and all that. After, she grabs her bag from her room and meets Christian who helps her shrug her jacket on.

Christian opts to drive them himself, driving to her school. Outside, on the sidewalk, is Victoria and Lillian. They look like they're going to come and drag her out of the car, the girls radiating with excitement.

"I'll pick you up about eleven," Christian says. "Have fun...and keep your hands to yourself around that boy if he's here. I don't need you impregnated."

Charlotte's face turns red. "That's not right, Christian."

"Bye, love," Christian says. He kisses her forehead and Charlotte gets out of the car, bidding Christian goodbye as Victoria and Lillian rush her.

"You went on a date with Thomas and you didn't call to tell me?! What kind of friendship is this?" Lillian asks, narrowing her green eyes.

"I just had lunch with him," Charlotte says.

"Just lunch…? Charlotte, you look like sex-on-legs. You should have made your move," Victoria interjects.

Charlotte starts towards the school, face red with embarrassment. The girls run after her, squealing with delight that they got such a reaction from her.

 _They're going to be the death of me_ , Charlotte thinks, cringing when Victoria all but shouts that she went on a date with Thomas James.

…

Charlotte narrows her eyes at her Spanish book. Christian insisted she became fluent in a language, so she chose Spanish to study. She studies Spanish on a college level with a few more students.

One of them happens to be Thomas.

She's reading over a paragraph when strong hands grasp her shoulders, squeezing softly. Charlotte looks back, seeing Thomas smiling his beautiful smile.

" _Holá, hermosa_ ," Thomas says, putting his knowledge of the language to use.

Charlotte chuckles softly. "Romancing me up by speaking another language?" They laugh and Charlotte grins. "Good. I find that hot."

Thomas laughs. "How're you, Charlie?" He sits in the desk next to Charlotte, his golden hues sparkling.

"I'm absolutely exhausted, but I'll make it," Charlotte says.

"Bad night?" Thomas asks. He knows to some extent about her childhood...but not enough that he knows what was done to her.

Charlotte nods. "Yeah." Thomas extends his hand and she takes it, running her thumbs across his knuckles. "What about you? How was your weekend?"

"Most excellent...especially on Saturday morning," Thomas says.

Charlotte rolls her eyes, but she smiles. She releases Thomas' hand, turning in her seat to face the teacher who has walked in.

Thomas nudges her softly, gently raising an eyebrow. "Call me later?"

Charlotte nods. "Yeah. I get home today about five...so call me then?"

"That works," Thomas replies. Then his eyes narrow. "Now stop romancing me! We're in class!"

Charlotte glares, playfully smacking Thomas as she grabs her book, looking at the teacher who has started instruction.

…

Christian comes for her at eleven as promised. She was in Chemistry when they pulled her from class, dismissing her to a waiting Christian.

"I picked a dress out for you," Christian says as she slides into the car.

Charlotte settles her pack in the floorboard, looking at the suit covered in plastic to protect it from wrinkles and keep it from getting dirty. It's another one of her gray business-type dresses.

Charlotte raises an eyebrow. "What? Do you want us to match?" She looks at Christian's gray suit and smiles when he glares. "Kidding, Christian. Do you have the matching coat?"

"I do," Christian says. Christian's aware of Charlotte not being comfortable at all with her own body. "We dress to impress today, Charlotte."

The next hour is spent talking back and forth. The father-daughter duo talk about anything and everything, talking the entire way to the college where this photoshoot will take place.

Upon arrival, they're ushered off to a private setting where a camera has been set up and there are a few people.

"Go change into your dress. Meet me here, Char?" Christian gives Charlotte her dress and the blonde nods, scattering off to go and change per Christian's request.

Charlotte finds the bathroom and changes quickly into the outfit Christian brought. She shrugs into her coat, hiding the scars from sight after slipping into her grey flats. After tucking away all of her other clothes into a bag, she looks at herself in the mirror, checking her appearance. She makes sure her hair is neat and her makeup is flawless- she is the daughter of Christian Grey, after all.

Charlotte leaves the bathroom, getting back to her father to see him already chatting with Miss Steele and another blonde and a man.

Christian's eyes meets hers and Charlotte smiles softly as she joins her father.

"Miss Steele, you've already met my daughter. Miss Kavanagh and Mr. Rodriguez, this is Charlotte."

Charlotte flashes the smile she carefully adopted from Christian. "It's a pleasure." She holds out her hand and the look on the blonde woman's face terrifies her.

"Ana, look how adorable she is!" gushes the blonde Christian has introduced her to.

Ana scowls a little. "Kate, she's not a dog." Charlotte looks at Ana, looking this woman up and down. She can see why Christian's drawn to her. She's beautiful. But Charlotte can't help but to think of a past submissive- Leila. The woman was relatively nice to her when she was around- that had been three years ago, though.

"Are you doing okay, Charlotte?" Ana asks, offering a smile that says, " _I'm sorry_." It refers back to the day before when she asked that question that upset her so greatly.

Charlotte nods. "I'm okay. Yourself, Miss Steele?"

"Call me Ana," she says.

"Ana," Charlotte amends. Then she looks at the blonde called Kate, flashing a smile. "Those were quite the interesting questions. What made you think my dad was gay?"

Kate's face goes bright red and there's laughter from everyone- well, except for Christian who nudges her slightly with a reprimanding expression, but he laughs, too.

"Shall we get this party started?" asks Ana's friend- the one who wants the portraits of Christian and Charlotte.

Both Greys nod and Christian nudges Charlotte forwards. Charlotte looks back at her father with a smoldering gaze. "Hey! What makes you think I want to go first?"

"Because I said so," Christian says. "Now go be your pretty self. Show him how attractive we Greys are."

Charlotte shakes her head and then goes with the man who has only just introduced himself as Josè. He leads Charlotte to where he has his equipment set up.

Josè begins to adjust the way she's sitting, fixing her hair and positioning her.

"Excellent," Josè says. Then he grins. "You're a heartbreaker, Miss Grey. I bet your father has to bat the boys off you with a stick."

Charlotte grins. "He has threatened worse." That makes Josè laugh.

Then the pictures begin. Charlotte brings about the face Christian uses in his pictures, smiling her small smile for the camera. Josè praises her and she can hear Christian hooting and hollering at her to embarrass her, but it makes her laugh.

After some time, Charlotte is dismissed from her post and Josè goes to look at the pictures. Christian and the girls look, too.

"It's wrong for a fifteen year old to look prettier than me," Kate says. "She probably has boys bowing at her feet."

Christian coughs. "Actually, it's a boy. Charlotte has him falling head over heels."

Charlotte feels her face darken at both comments. She stands to peer at the pictures. She looks older than she is in them.

"Can you make copies of these for me? I hardly have time to take pictures of her and she's growing so fast," Christian says, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

Josè nods. "I can have them sent to you quickly."

Christian grins. "I can pay for any amount."

Charlotte rolls her eyes. "Dad, quit showing off."

Christian's eyes narrow. "Don't roll your eyes. That's rude."

Charlotte apologizes and Christian is quick to forgive, smiling softly. There's some more talking over her pictures when Josè pulls Christian away for his pictures.

Left standing with Ana and Kate, Charlotte watches her father. His face is impassive, void of a smile or any such emotion. He looks serious as he usually presents himself.

Kate nudges Charlotte softly, calling her attention. "So what's it like...living with Christian Grey?"

Charlotte shrugs. "He's my dad… I mean he does a lot of business and stuff, but we goof around a lot."

"You're using his child for your report? God, Kate…" Ana says. "Why not ask her what Mr. Grey does in his free time or some other intimate question…"

Oh...wouldn't you love to know all about that, Charlotte thinks. "Seriously...it's like any other father-daughter relationship. We waste our Sundays, he's teaching me to run GEH, and I can't date anyone lest he tries to sabotage it."

"He says you have a boyfriend," Kate says.

"I don't. We're testing the waters for a relationship," Charlotte answers. "Christian over exaggerates too much."

There's some laughter between Ana and Kate. Charlotte smiles, glad to have humored them. She looks back at Christian who has broken away from the photoshoot, walking towards the three women. Josè is following close, joining the four.

"Thank you both for coming here today," Josè rambles.

Christian smiled. "It was nothing. Besides, Charlotte needed to make her public debut sometime…" Christian nudges Charlotte playfully and the teenager slugs him on the arm. "Please do send me those photos when you can. I need some updated photos of this one around the apartment." He pulls one of Charlotte's curls, watching it bounce.

"No problem. I'm just going to take these to get them developed," Josè says. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Grey. You, too, Miss Grey."

"It was a pleasure," Charlotte says. "And please...call me Charlotte. Miss Grey makes me feel like I'm old."

There's some laughter and Charlotte watches as Josè takes off, eager to get his pictures of the Greys.

"Umm...Charlotte, I was wondering if you'd be fine if I took Ana out for some drinks," Christian says.

Charlotte has to hold in her initial disappointment. She smiles despite how she feels, nodding her head. "Yeah...it's not a problem."

"I'll have Taylor take you home," Christian says.

There's a squeal directly from Kate. "Don't send her home! She can come out with me and we can roam the streets together."

"You make it sound like we're going to do things of questionable nature," Charlotte says.

Christian does something in-between a laugh and gasp. "Charlotte Grace…!"

Charlotte is laughing- so is Ana and Kate. "I'm teasing, Christian. But I'd like to go with her- do something fun." It'll help take her mind off of everything for a bit.

"Fine, but be careful," Christian says, wrapping an arm around his child. Charlotte hugs him tightly. "Call me when you two are done. I'll come for you."

"Understood," Charlotte mumbles. "Love you, Christian."

"Love you, too, brat," Christian says.

Charlotte feels Kate grasp her arm. "C'mon, let's go! You and me are going to have so much fun!" Then she's following the blonde blindly, laughing all the while.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ummm...hi, guys. I write this to you while I cough up a lung and try to breathe properly.**

 **Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and a special thanks to Cindra for coming to the rescue- that really made me feel much better. Now I do get sick a lot (this time I got a lovely combination of bronchitis and a raging case of the flu, so I feel absolutely awful) and my life is very hectic, but I try. However, I should try to update some of my other stories- that I do agree with. With time, they too will be updated or remade all together.**

 **Just try to bear with me and I'll try my best to keep updating this story.**

 **I really hope you all enjoy and I hope everyone had a fantastic New Year!**

* * *

 _Charlotte regrets agreeing to go with Kate._

By no means is she a loud person- kind of bubbly, yes; but laughing and being bold? Not a chance. She left for a distraction- if she went home, she would have thrown herself a pity-party and sulked the entire time.

But she's kind of thinking that a pity-party would have been better than running with this woman.

"This would look so cute on you, Charlotte!" They wound up going to a store both could actually agree on.

Kate holds up a pink shirt and Charlotte cringes on the inside. She hates the color pink. Her color preferences went from shades of gray to specific colors of blue and so on. She just doesn't like anything labeled "girly." Her aunt, Mia, tries to dress her up all girly like in those dreaded colors sometimes.

Charlotte shakes her head. "Umm...no. Not my color." She opts out for a royal blue shirt, studying the silky fabric.

"You're no fun!" Kate crows. "I bet you wear nothing but gray!"

Charlotte chuckles. "Most of my wardrobe consists of gray. I wear some other colors, but you won't catch me dead in pink." Charlotte pulls out a purple sweater, showing it to Kate. "Do you like this?"

"I still think you should wear pink," Kate says pointedly. There's some silence for a few moments, but Kate breaks it no sooner than it began. "Thank you...for answering those questions. It helped me out a lot for my essay."

Charlotte smiles. "No problem. I was more than happy to answer them."

They chatter back and forth for a while, each buying a few articles of clothing. "So what about this boyfriend Christian told us all about."

Charlotte takes her wallet out, paying for the few items she bought. Christian actually paid her to do some office work for him, so she had some money put back. "He exaggerates. And he isn't my boyfriend… He just asked me out on a date."

"Has Christian met him?"

"Tom is _petrified_ of Christian," Charlotte says, laughing slightly. Kate chuckles at that, the two blonds finding humor in Christian Grey terrifying a teenage boy. "He's taking me out Saturday, and Christian said if he didn't have me back by nine, he was calling the cops on him."

"At least he cares," Kate points out.

Charlotte snorts inelegantly, about to say something when her phone vibrates in her pocket. Charlotte pulls her phone out, looking at the screen.

 _I'm on my way to pick you up. Where are you? ~ Christian_

Charlotte sighs, kind of relieved, but disheartened, too. She's glad that Ana will be out of Christian's hair for a bit, but she was having fun with Kate. She doesn't usually get any so called "girl time." Sometimes, being able to communicate with someone of the same gender is a relief, Charlotte believes. There's things she won't talk about with Christian lest it embarrass him or her.

"Christian says he's coming to get me," says Charlotte. "Do we want to run anywhere else?"

"Of course! I'm taking my newest charge to the ice cream shop and we're going to eat stuff I'm sure Christian wouldn't approve of."

…

Charlotte and Kate are making quiet conversation over their desserts when Christian walks in. Charlotte looks towards him and he looks kind of upset.

"What? You scare her off?" Charlotte asks, taking a bite of her ice cream.

Christian's eyes narrow, but he chooses not to say anything. Then, he smiles. "No, I didn't." Charlotte lifts an eyebrow at him inquisitively. Charlotte can read Christian like a book and he's a horrid liar. "Have you had fun with Kate?"

"I have," Charlotte says. "Now...why not tell us what happened on your date? What did you do not to get the girl?"

Kate laughs and Christian glowers. Charlotte smiles innocently, taking another bite of her chocolate ice cream. "I'm teasing. Since you want to know so much… We went shopping and we just talked. It's nice talking to another woman every now and again."

"Good," Christian says. He turns to Kate, grinning. "Thank you for keeping my brat occupied. She doesn't really get out much."

"I'm not that introverted, Christian," Charlotte says.

Christian only shakes his head. "We'll be going. Bye, Kate."

Charlotte watches as Kate stands, ready to pull her into a hug. Terror washes over Charlotte and she steps back, looking at Kate. "Umm...I'm sorry. I'm not all that...huggy."

Kate looks kind of spooked. "It's no problem. I hope I get to take you out again! I'll have to come kidnap you sometime."

Charlotte laughs, bidding the blonde woman goodbye and she's off, Christian leading the way.

"Seriously- what happened? Was she not as great as you thought she'd be? Did she find out about your weird fetish?" Charlotte buckles herself into the car, still finishing off her food.

"Charlotte," Christian says in warning. Then, he expels a sigh. "I can't do that to her. I don't want to do it to you. Neither of you deserve the outcome."

Charlotte inwardly smirks. She's won this battle, but she knows she still hasn't won the war. Also, she does feel bad. Christian deserves happiness. In truth, both of them do. Christian deserves a woman who will love him and she deserves someone who won't disappear from her life like so many have.

"We'll figure it out," Charlotte says. Then she offers her remaining ice cream to Christian. "Want to eat your sorrows away in junk food?"

"Give me that."

…

" _You got to skip Chemistry, lucky!"_

Charlotte laughs, listening to Thomas rant on about the perils of their Chemistry class. In truth, the class is a nightmare. Their teacher makes everything harder than it's supposed to be and Charlotte has to work her ass off to get good grades in her class.

"What happened today? You talk like she's made your life hell."

" _I fell asleep and she threw freaking erasers_ _at me. Then she proceeded to pitch a fit because everyone in her class, quote and unquote, 'Are a bunch of illiterate idiots.'"_

Charlotte whistles lowly. "So she was on a roll today?"

" _She scares me, Charlie,_ " Thomas says, feigning terror. " _Alright, I'll quit rambling. You excited for Saturday?"_

She smiles, laying against the pillows. She was excited to go out- it's a little unnerving that she's going out alone with someone of the male gender, but she has to push past it.

She can't let her horrible past ruin her future.

"I am. So...what're we going to see? Are we sneaking into one of those R-rated movies?"

" _Sadly, no- I'm scared that your dad might tear me a new one."_ Charlotte laughs at that and there's a content sigh over the phone. " _I love that sound- your laugh. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard."_

"Suck up," Charlotte deadpans.

" _You're so hard to compliment! What is it with you women? Anyhow, you might be pleased with that new movie that came out. Something about vampires or whatever… My sisters said it's all the rage."_

"You mean that Breaking Dawn stuff?"

" _Yeah…?"_

"The lead heroine dies in childbirth."

" _And you ruin the ending! What a party pooper."_

There's some laughter and it quiets. There's a squeak in the silence and Charlotte looks at the door. Christian has his head stuck in the door, glaring.

"Tell you what, Tom...I'll call you back."

" _Why? What's wrong?"_

"Detective Dad is in the room," Charlotte states. "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

Thomas groans. Charlotte chuckles. " _Fine. I'll jump off here. Bye, Charlie."_

"Bye, Tommy." Charlotte hangs up, looking at her not-so-sneaky adoptive father. "You can't trust me even if I call him on the phone?"

"How do I know you wasn't sex-talking him?" Christian asks.

Charlotte chucks a pillow at Christian, glaring. "You know me better than that, Christian Grey." Christian plops down on the bed and Charlotte looks at her father, raising an eyebrow. "You've raised me to know better."

"I know, Char. You can't blame a man for worrying, though."

Charlotte smiles sadly. "Well stop. I'm not going to do anything stupid." Then she offers her phone. "Want to check my text messages? Oh, wait...you can screen my calls and read my texts, dummy."

"Touché." Christian falls back on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Charlotte sprawls out onto the bed next to Christian. "I think that you and I should just stay single for the rest of our lives. It seems easier like that."

Christian chuckles. "I entertain that thought often."

"We need to become nuns."

"I'm a guy."

"A monk for you, then, jackass."

Charlotte busts out into laughter at that. She likes the weird conversations they get into- there's something she likes about talking random things with the only person in the world who doesn't think she's a complete idiot.

They argue back and forth for a while longer when Christian bends over Charlotte, kissing her pale curls. "I'm going to turn in. I'll see you in the morning, Char."

"'Night, Christian," she says, watching Christian walks from her room.

…

 _Hands close around her throat, shutting off her airways._

 _Charlotte struggles, scratching and hitting and kicking. She tries to scream, but she can't due to the hands stifling her voice. They squeeze tighter until she's gasping, her lungs aching for air._

 _She doesn't have to guess whose hands they are. It's the one who started this all. The one who caused her so much pain and suffering. Peter._

 _The pressure around her throat lessens, the light switching on. She sees familiar eyes and greasy, black hair. She smells the familiar, sickening scents of cigarettes and alcohol. The sneer on his face makes the terror bubble up from the deepest parts of her. Charlotte looks around the room- the room where he kept her. The cot is in the corner and she sees the dirty floors littered with cigarette butts and broken beer bottles and the peeling paint on the walls. She can hear other children wailing._

 _"You think that you can get away from me…" Peter's hands roam her body and she cringes, trying to push him away. "I'm never going to leave. No one escapes that easy. I'm close...watching you."_

 _He takes a fistful of hair and Charlotte grits her teeth in pain, but it's silenced as his cracked lips attack hers._

…

Charlotte's scream is what rouses her from sleep. She still fights the phantom hands, her stomach churning because the touch makes her so violently sick. She escapes the sheets, running for the bathroom as the contents of her stomach make their reappearance, hanging her head over the toilet just in time when they rush back up.

The door swings open, but Charlotte can't pick her head to acknowledge Christian. She rests rests her head on her arms, her body shaking with violent sobs.

"Charlotte?" Christian kneels next to the trembling girl. Charlotte feels his hand rest on her back and she wants to scream. He's not Peter. Christian isn't Peter. "Are you okay?"

"He got me," Charlotte bawls, suddenly deduced to the ten year old she came to Christian as. "He's out there and he's going to get me, Christian."

Strong arms wrap around her, holding her close. Charlotte drops her head on Christian's shoulder, sobbing weakly. Christian holds her like she's little, his back against the bathtub with a bawling Charlotte in his lap. "That man's long gone, Charlotte. You know he is."

Charlotte sniffles. "It felt so real. I could feel his hands on me."

"I know," Christian soothes. His fingers comb through her hair and Charlotte steels herself against his touch. "Easy, Char; you're okay. You're safe."

 _You're safe-_ those words take a moment to register. Safe isn't a word she knows well. Before Christian, she was never safe. They sit in silence until Charlotte can gain her bearings, drying tears.

"Do you want to go back to bed?" Christian asks.

Charlotte shakes her head, scooting off Christian's lap. She presses her back against the cool porcelain of the bath. "He'll come back."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Christian asks. He often pushes her to talk about her nightmares. Their therapist suggested it- something about her being able to cope with it. But it doesn't work- it makes her relive everything all over again.

Charlotte shakes her head, rising to her trembling legs. "I want to shower." She does it often- she gets the water as hot as she can stand, scrubbing her skin raw.

Christian complies. "I'll grab you some clothes. Jump in, okay?"

Charlotte nods, going towards the shower. She turns the knob, steam already pouring out of the shower with the scalding hot water. She waits until Christian is gone to get in, wash cloth in hand to scrub herself clean.

Charlotte hisses at the sudden sting of the water. Then, her skin becomes numb and she revels in the fact that Peter's touch is being burned away. She begins the task of making herself clean, washing away that man's horrid touch.

She finishes when the water runs ice cold. She steps from the shower, drying herself quickly and dresses in what Christian brought her. She gathers her damp curls into a messy bun, walking down the hall to her room where she hears Christian mumbling into his phone.

" _Nightmares…worse...screaming…_ "

She knows that he's talking to the therapist. She wants to say that Dr. Flynn can't fix all her problems, but she leaves it alone. Christian is doing what he thinks is best.

 _"I need to go. Charlotte's here now…. I'm sorry- I wouldn't have called if I wasn't so worried_." There's a brief silence. " _She won't take them. She says that they make the nightmares worse."_

Charlotte sits on the bed, settling against the pillows. She hears Christian give a soft goodbye and he stops talking with the doctor.

"You should get some sleep." The bed sinks with added weight. Charlotte looks up at Christian, the man's face white as a ghost and his mouth is set in a frown.

Charlotte shakes her head. "I can't. He'll come back again."

Christian's hand smoothes her hair. "How about I stay until you fall asleep? Can we agree?"

Charlotte nods and Christian sits next to her. He tucks the blankets around his adopted daughter and Charlotte lays her head on his lap.

"Go to sleep. He won't be there," Christian whispers softly.

Charlotte gulps back terror. "How do you know?" Her voice is barely audible.

"Because I promised to keep all the bad things away," Christian says.

She wishes that his promise alone would soothe her, but the scary things will always be there. If there was one thing that Peter was right about, it was this:

" _I'm never going to leave."_


	6. Chapter 6

**This is a relatively short chapter, but it slowly begins to introduce the Grey family and their relationships with Charlotte and what she's living through from her past.**

 **I hope everyone enjoys. Chapter holds some drama but plenty of family moments.**

* * *

" _Can you explain your nightmare?"_

Charlotte looks down at her hands as Dr. Flynn speaks. She didn't want to come here today- she despises therapy. It isn't that she doesn't like Dr. Flynn- she thinks highly of the man, but she doesn't like talking about her feelings and whatever else her therapy involves. Christian pushes her to come to these therapy sessions and she does it to at least make him happy.

She feels panic well up inside her. Images flash through her mind- the dingy room; the beer bottles and cigarettes littering the floor; Peter's face.

"Peter had me backed against the wall," Charlotte says. She fights through her discomfort, suddenly nauseous at the sudden smell of stale cigarette smoke and alcohol. "His hands closed around my throat and it was dark and I didn't know it was him then. I struggled with him and he just held me there and I was suffocating. The light flickered on and I saw him. We were in the room that…"

Charlotte stops speaking, chills racing down her spine. Her heart feels like it's going to jump from her chest and her breathing is shaky. "I'm sorry- I can't…"

"It's okay- go at your own pace," the doctor says.

It takes Charlotte a moment to soothe herself. Her breathing eases and her heartbeat slows. She's somewhat calm now. She looks at Dr. Flynn who nods encouragingly. "Peter told me that I couldn't escape. He said he was watching… His hands started traveling my body and he grabbed my hair...and he…" Her stomach rolls and she finally gives up on telling anything else lest she throw up her breakfast.

"And this is the first you've had this particular dream?"

Charlotte nods, twiddling her thumbs. She looks between her hands and Dr. Flynn, breathing in and out carefully.

"Do you think it has something to do with any changes in your life?" Dr. Flynn asks. "Christian said you're going through quite an ordeal."

Charlotte grits her teeth, but chooses not to say anything against Christian. "This last while I've started to consider dating… My best friend asked me out."

"Is your fear of the male gender fueling the nightmares?"

Charlotte doesn't know how to respond to that. She thinks it's a possibility. "I'm not scared of Thomas. Sometimes it's the way he handles me."

"As in?"

"I get nervous when he hugs me...sometimes when he grabs my hand," Charlotte answers. "I try not to say anything because I know it's all in my head, and I don't want to hurt his feelings."

"It's okay to feel the way you do. You have every reason to," Dr. Flynn says. "It's how you defend yourself. But you have to learn to not see him as a threat- it takes time for someone who has been through the things you've gone through to be ready for a romantic relationship."

There's some silence as Dr. Flynn flips through her file when his eyes pinpoint on another thing. "On from dating… I see you've gone in for blood tests regarding your…"

Charlotte feels her face burn with embarrassment. Since everyone found out the degree of the abuse she suffered, there have been constant blood tests to ensure that she hasn't contracted diseases from the several men who passed her around. "Yeah… They came back negative." It makes her feel used and dirty- she's tainted.

"Does that help dispel the fear that you could contract something?"

"Not really. Though the tests give a moment of comfort, the time between each test creates such a sudden fear that I could get something."

Dr. Flynn nods. "And you've had them since age ten?"

Charlotte nods. She diverts her eyes when the doctor has her look back at him. "It isn't your fault, you know. You didn't deserve that life. The things that happen aren't results of your own doings."

"Thanks," Charlotte mumbles half-heartedly.

Dr. Flynn flashes a soft smile. Then, he slides over some papers. "Okay, Charlotte- I'll wrap up the session for today. However, I need you to continue taking these medications."

Charlotte looks down at the sheet of paper. _Zoloft_ , for depression; _Clonidine_ , to calm her down when she panics. Her eyes scan the rest of the sheet when her eyes fall on the newest addition of the mix- _melatonin_.

"Melatonin?"

"Melatonin is an over-the-counter sleeping medication," says Dr. Flynn. "It should help you sleep and it will not keep your sedated like your other pills."

Charlotte nods. "Thanks, Dr. Flynn."

"Anytime, Charlotte," he says. "Let me show you out." The doctor stands and Charlotte follows, the door already opened and Christian stands in the doorway.

Christian's face is pale. He has the same look at every doctor's appointment she has. "Is she doing well?"

"She's doing fine," Dr. Flynn assures. "It isn't nothing she can't sort out herself. There's just a few things I'd like to smooth over."

Dr. Flynn first mentions the new sleeping medication and goes on to talking about encouraging Charlotte to talk about her feelings and making sure she knows she's safe. She listens as they mill about her mental state, soon losing herself completely. The only thing that draws her out is Christian's firm grip on her shoulder.

"Charlotte?"

Charlotte diverts her grey eyes to Christian. He looks concerned as always during these appointments. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Charlotte says. "Fine. I'm fine."

Christian nods. "Let's get going, then. We'll stop for lunch and head to Mom's."

Charlotte follows behind Christian after bidding Dr. Flynn goodbye. Christian climbs into the driver's seat after opening Charlotte's door and closing it for her, starting towards a restaurant.

"You're not okay, are you?" Christian's eyes flit between Charlotte and the road; his fingers tap the steering wheel nervously.

Charlotte sighs. "You know I hate those therapy sessions."

"I wouldn't have you go to them if they didn't help you, Charlotte," Christian says as they stop at a red light. "I have both of us go because we need to be helped."

Charlotte scoffs. "There's hope for you- me...my mind is so fucked up, Christian."

Christian's eyes narrow. Charlotte expels a sigh. "I'm sorry- I didn't mean to curse. I'm just so lost in my head right now. There's so much wrong with me."

"It isn't nothing that can't be fixed."

Charlotte wants to laugh at that. She can never be fixed. She's too shattered for anyone to piece her back together anymore. She's a million little pieces of broken glass that can't be fixed. Sometimes she wonders why Christian bothers with her. There are people who are normal- who doesn't have a past filled with unspeakable things.

"Yeah... I guess," Charlotte says mournfully.

There's a few moments of silence when Christian clears his throat. "Did you talk about your parents?"

Charlotte's heart nearly stops. Her parents aren't people she enjoys talking about. Her earliest memories of them include screaming, pain, and loneliness. "It's the same story every time. What I remember about them; why they left me… It's kind of depressing to tell someone that your parents traded you for a bag of crack rocks every session."

Christian shuts up after that.

They stop for lunch at a small restaurant both of them are familiar with. They seat themselves near the back, both of them preferring to be away from the majority of the people.

When a waitress brings them a menu, the show she puts is awful. Charlotte nearly forgets her upset as the waitress slinks about, trying to seduce Christian. She's trying not to laugh at him. Christian's face actually turns several shades of red and he pull at the collar of his shirt uncomfortably.

Once the waitress struts away, Charlotte begins to snicker. "Does she meet the criteria for being Mrs. Grey?"

"I'm glad you think it's funny," Christian says timidly. He sips at his wine, bouncing his knee slightly.

"It is. It's sad everyone views you as sex on legs."

Charlotte laughs harder because Christian chokes on his wine.

"Hush your mouth and drink your tea, pervert," Christian says. Charlotte grins wildly and sips at her drink. They wait a short time before they're presented with their meals. Charlotte ordered Chicken Alfredo- she's a sucker for Italian food. Christian has decided to stick with a steak and roasted vegetables.

They talk back and forth while they eat, enjoying their time together. Charlotte enjoys spending time with Christian- it's her favorite thing to do.

Several times does the waitress come back. Charlotte barely controls her laughter as the waitress tries her damndest to attract Christian. She even leans across the table when she takes Charlotte's glass to show Christian her cleavage.

That's what brought the house down.

Christian asks for the check quickly after that, boxing up whatever is left of their meal. Charlotte is still laughing about the waitress and Christian is fuming.

They're driving to the Greys' home. Their drive mostly consists of Charlotte teasing Christian relentlessly over the waitress and Christian threatens to hurl her out of the car at the speed of sixty miles an hour.

Once they arrive at her grandparents' residence, Charlotte grins at the sight of Elliot's car sitting in the driveway. She loves the eldest Grey- they get along together better than anyone had expected. At first she was wary of Elliot, but they established a true friendship when he pushed her into the swimming pool and she yanked him on in. Of course Christian had been mad…given that it was mid-November and the weather was freezing that day.

They're thick as thieves now and get into much more trouble than they should.

Charlotte is the first into the house. She's eager to find Elliot and con him into going swimming today because the weather is perfect for it.

"Charlotte! Look at you- you're still so little. Does Christian ever feed you?" Charlotte looks to see Grace walking towards her, enveloping her in her arms.

Charlotte chuckles. "Hi, Nana." She hugs Grace, smiling. "I've never gained weight. You know that."

There's some talking about her appointments when Charlotte hears Elliot from upstairs. "Charlie!" Charlotte looks up to see Elliot leaning over the banister, smiling like a maniac. He's dressed in swim trunks with Hawaiian flowers across them. "Get your swimsuit on! I've slaved over that pool all day to make sure it was clean and I dragged every pool float from storage."

"If you're going out, please wear sunscreen," Christian says. He places his car keys on the table and strips of his jacket. "I don't need you getting sunburnt."

Elliot scoffs. "Christian, it's overcast and there's not a chance of sun. She'll be fine."

"In any case, I think it's too cold to go swimming."

"It's uncharacteristic for the temperature to be as warm as it is. She's going swimming!" Elliot flings down her swimsuit- a two piece with a top made of diving material that hides her scars. "Meet me outside, Char."

Charlotte watches as Elliot rushes out of the house and, with a shriek, jumps into the pool.

…

Charlotte clings to a pool float as she calls for Christian.

"Get in! The water's fine," Charlotte bellows, attempting to get Christian to join her and Elliot. She pulls herself onto the purple pool float, sitting on the edge while she grasps the plastic handles to keep herself upright.

Christian shakes his head. "I don't swim, Charlotte. And I don't have a swimsuit."

"You can wear Elliot's trunks. Please, Dad!" Charlotte pouts a little, hoping to persuade him into joining her and Elliot.

Elliot resurfaces next to Charlotte, turning so he's on his back. "Yeah, Dad! Come swimming with us!" Elliot kicks his legs, splashing water at Charlotte. Charlotte reaches towards Elliot, pushing him under. His arms flail and Charlotte watches as he brings his head above the surface in a panic, trying to breathe.

Charlotte smiles triumphantly when she hears Christian laughing. Christian often encourages her to show aggression towards Elliot and he laughs when Charlotte hurts Elliot or when she humiliates him.

Her joy is short lived as she's thrown from the floatie. A few short moments later she's above the water, coughing. Elliot is laughing and Christian is barely containing his.

"Aww… Don't be so butthurt, Charlotte. It was a joke," Elliot says. He is now floating along the pool with a pool noodle, smiling.

Christian comes to the edge of the pool, offering a towel. He's laughing, smiling widely. Charlotte reaches as though she's taking the towel, but she just grabs his white T-shirt and yanks him into the pool.

The consequences would be well worth it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks to everyone for the amazing reviews! I was ecstatic when I read them. Thank you to those who even left some constructive criticism.**

 **I went and seen Fifty Shades Darker finally… I was very surprised- excellent story line but I could have lived without all of the sex. Also... I loved the movie's take on Jack Hyde. He's much more attractive than book's version.**

 **Aside from my input, here is your chapter! I hope everyone enjoys this and I hope you're not disappointed. Enjoy!**

* * *

" _So you had a doctor's appointment?"_

Charlotte sighs. Tom has been badgering her the last hour over her missing out on school. In Charlotte's opinion, he worries a little too much. "Yeah. It was just a checkup with the therapist."

" _You missed school today. It seems like a big deal."_

"Dad just let me stay home. It was nothing- just talked about my medicines and stuff. And I did learn something new…"

" _What_?" Thomas' voice is laced with worry.

"I'm crazy." Charlotte grins when she hears Thomas bust out laughing on the other line.

" _I'm not a therapist and I already knew that, Grey,"_ Thomas jokes and Charlotte laughs a little. " _But it's cute. All of you insane girls have the looks to make up for being mentally deranged."_

Charlotte snorts inelegantly. "Should I be offended by that?"

" _It adds to your character. I find it attractive."_

"If you want crazy I'll just stop taking the pills," Charlotte says, looking over at the clock. It reads eleven-thirty. "Tommy, it's getting late. I'm going to go before Christian decides to play detective again."

Thomas chuckles lightly into . " _Understood. My family is getting nosy, too. I'll let you go, Charlie."_

"Bye, Tom."

" _Bye, Char. Promise me you'll take care of yourself?"_

Charlotte smiles. "I promise. Bye, Thomas."

Thomas gives a final goodbye and hangs up. Charlotte puts her phone aside, drawing the blankets around her body. There's a moment or two of silence when the door creaks and she frowns.

"I suggest if you're going to listen in on the conversation, try setting the phone to conference call," Charlotte says dryly, sitting up to look at Christian who is looking in on her with his eyes narrowed and his lips set in a hard line.

"If it's crazy he wants, I'll show him crazy," Christian says. He steps into the room, crossing his arms as his grey eyes take in the sight of his teenage daughter.

Charlotte rolls her eyes, but she's earned a look from Christian. She scoots over in her bed, patting the mattress as an invitation for Christian to sit with her.

Christian plops next to Charlotte, the bed dipping with his added weight. "Everything did go well with the therapist, right?"

"Yeah… We just talked about the nightmares and everything," Charlotte says, looking at her purple comforter. She traces the swirling patterns of black across the fabric, not daring to look at Christian.

Christian's hand comes to rest on her arm. "Did he say something else?"

"Nope," Charlotte answers, popping the "p." She looks at Christian and flashes a smile. "So...anything interesting happening tonight?"

Christian shakes his head. "No. I'm staying home...maybe to catch up on some work."

Charlotte smiles softly. She lays back against the pillows. "Would you sit with me until I fall asleep?" She isn't particularly excited about the nightmares tonight. At least Christian will take away some of the panic that comes with them.

Christian nods. "Let me go get my laptop. I'll be right back."

Christian disappears from the room, leaving Charlotte. Charlotte draws the blankets around her, waiting for Christian to return. She's curled on her right side when Christian sits on the bed, pulling the blankets over his legs and he settles his laptop on his legs.

"It's late. Go to sleep," Christian says, his hand resting on Charlotte's head.

"'Night, Christian," Charlotte says.

He smoothes Charlotte's blonde curls, smiling his soft smile. "Good night, Charlie."

…

" _You think that you can get away from me."_

 _"I'm close...watching you."_

 _"I'm never going to leave."_

Charlotte wakes up in a cold sweat. The room is dark and cool. The bedroom window has been opened to let in the cool Seattle air.

She doesn't remember the dream- for that, she's glad. It's an achievement for her because she hasn't woke screaming her head off. Charlotte sits up in bed, noting that Christian has fled her bedroom. She suspects he may be downstairs or he could have made the trip to his own room for the night.

Charlotte sits up, scanning the room. Her eyes spy a note left on her pillow and she picks it up, reading over the note.

 _Left with Elliot. Something came up and I had to leave quickly. I've called in Sawyer to stay with you until I return. Taylor will drive you to school in the morning._

 _Sweet dreams, Christian._

Charlotte furrows her eyebrows, but decides not to question it. If Christian left he had good reason. She crumples the note and throws it in the trash bin next to her desk, going to her sliding glass door that leads to the balcony, giving her a gorgeous overview of Seattle.

She steps through the sliding doors and onto the balcony. She welcomes the cool breeze Seattle offers, cooling her body. The city is lit up with all sorts of colors, but the roads are almost vacant save for the handful of cars and people who are milling about at three in the morning.

Charlotte finally goes back inside, closing and locking the door. She closes her window, too. Then, she makes the descent downstairs to get a drink.

She reaches the bottom of the stairs, finding a sleeping Sawyer on the couch in his sweats and a shirt- Christian obviously called him last-minute. Sawyer is like an annoying older brother to her- he's almost like Elliot. They give each other hell constantly.

Charlotte navigates to the kitchen, reaching into the cabinet for a glass. Then, she turns on the tap and fills the glass. The sound must wake Sawyer because his snoring stops and the television mutes.

"Grey? Is that you in there making noise?"

"No, it's the 'Not-Me Ghost,'" Charlotte says sarcastically as she drinks her water.

Sawyer laughs and Charlotte chuckles. "Now why are you up right now? Your father said you'd sleep through the night."

"He makes it sound like I can't take care of myself," Charlotte says. "I'm fifteen, not five months."

"Just taking orders," Sawyer says, yawning heavily. "So...everything is all good upstairs? Do I need to do a sweep of your closet and shine a light under your bed?"

"Go back to sleep, Sawyer," Charlotte grits. Sawyer laughs.

Charlotte wraps things up in the kitchen and goes upstairs- not before trying to push a pillow over Sawyer's face and he blindly throws it at her when she runs for the stairs.

She winds up sleeping better with Sawyer downstairs.

…

"Have a good day, Charlotte."

Charlotte clambers from the car, bringing her backpack over her shoulders. She smiles at Taylor, waving as he closes the door and goes to get in the driver's seat.

"Thanks. You, too, Taylor." She turns to start towards the school after Taylor drives off, hoping to find Thomas or one of the girls.

Charlotte's grey hues find Thomas. He's talking to a group of people, but his attention is on her when he his brown eyes snap to her. His smile brightens and he excuses himself, joining her.

"Good morning, Charlotte." Thomas lifts her up, hugging her tightly. Charlotte chuckles, hugging the boy tightly, only letting him go when he blows a sloppy raspberry on her cheek.

"Eww! Tom… That's _gross_."

"You know you liked it." Thomas laughs and Charlotte rolls her eyes, scrubbing the spit from her cheek. "So...your dad isn't here to threaten to neuter me?"

Charlotte suppresses a laugh. "He left last night with my uncle. He said it was important."

"It sounds like a booty call."

"Thomas!"

"Kidding! Come on...let's get inside. Victoria and Lillian are waiting for us." Thomas offers his hand and Charlotte takes it, lacing their fingers together.

…

By the time school is dismissed, Charlotte couldn't be happier to leave. The day was boring and she certainly didn't enjoy seventh period, her Chemistry class. Thomas and Victoria and Lillian made it halfway bearable, keeping her entertained for a short time.

Now, she stands with Thomas and Lillian. They wait for their respective rides home, talking to each other in quiet voices.

"Ask your dad if you can stay with me," Lillian says. "Your boyfriend is taking you from me all the time."

"He's not my boyfriend," Charlotte says, eyeing her best friend.

Thomas chuckles. "Not yet."

"You think you're funny, don't you, Thomas?" Charlotte asks.

"I find myself to be delightful," Thomas says, smiling a toothy smile.

Charlotte can only glare because she's so flustered by him. Lillian and Thomas laugh at her. After, they continue talking until Lillian makes a sound.

"Look at that creep over there… He's staring us down," Lillian says.

Charlotte rolls her eyes. "You think everyone stares at you. You're hot stuff apparently."

"I am. But look." Lillian nods in the man's direction and Charlotte looks across the street.

The man Lillian pointed out isn't very tall. He's dressed in a ripped black jacket and he had a hood pulled over his head, but it doesn't hide his face. He has wrinkly skin and dark eyes.

When Charlotte makes eye contact, he smiles, revealing crooked, yellow teeth.

Something clicks in Charlotte's head. One name flashes in her mind and she feels terror take her over at the realization of the person staring. _Peter_. Her blood turns to ice and flows like lead through her veins. She can feel her heart jump into her throat and she feels every nerve in her body come to life. Her muscles tense and suddenly all she can focus on is _him_.

And his name is the last coherent thought she forms before the pavement swivels towards her face.


	8. Chapter 8

**Thanks to everyone for the amazing reviews! I hope you all can continue to enjoy the upcoming chapters!**

 **I've taken what some have said to consideration. Christian will not practice BDSM with Ana- I don't think I'd be comfortable writing that. Also, I will introduce Ana in this chapter.**

 **I hope everyone enjoys.**

* * *

" _I said come back here you little brat!"_

 _Charlotte screamed when he grabbed the back of her shirt. Peter flung her backwards and she landed on the cracked tile floor, yelping when she landed on her side. Her chest hurt and she couldn't breathe._

 _Charlotte gritted her teeth, staring at Peter. "I don't like you! I'd rather go back home and live with my parents than stay here!"_

 _Peter snatched her up by her hair, slamming her against the wall. "Your parents don't want you. Your mother traded you for a fucking bag of crack rocks and a wad of cash. Truth is...no one wants a dirty little girl. Hell, the only reason I'm keeping you around is because you're a crowd pleaser."_

 _Charlotte spit in his face. "One day I'll get out of here and you'll be in prison where all of your nasty friends are."_

 _"And I'll come back and you'll be where you are now. No one will save you then."_

 _That night Peter beat her so badly she could barely walk._

 _She never dared to speak to him like that again…_

…

"She's coming to… Charlotte?"

Charlotte reluctantly opens her eyes. Through her tunneling vision she can make out Christian and Taylor. She can smell the sharp smell of cleaning supplies and there are bright lights.

Christian's fingers work through her blonde locks, soothing her. "Charlotte? Baby, you scared me to death." He strokes her head and she's aware of a dull pain. "What happened?"

She'd have answered him if it wasn't for the crippling terror in her body. Grey eyes meet their identical and Charlotte gives Christian a knowing look and he knows what's bothering her. Christian's face turns ashen and he looks to Taylor.

"Contact Welch immediately and tell him to do a security check on Peter Sturges," Christian says.

Taylor raises an eyebrow. "I thought Peter Sturges had a ten year sentence, ?"

"Just do the check. Until then I want Escala on lockdown and I want security here at the hospital," Christian says, leaving no room for discussion. "Nobody goes in or out of here without my say so."

"Of course, Mr. Grey," Taylor says. "I'll contact you with any new information." Taylor bids both Greys goodbye and leaves the room, quickly calling Welch to start the investigation.

Once he's gone, Charlotte looks at Christian. "Christian, I'm scared."

Christian sighs, brushing his fingers through Charlotte's blonde locks. "You're probably just seeing things. You've been very stressed lately. I'm running the security check just to be safe, though...and, in the event something does happen, you're going to be very well protected."

Christian smiles sadly. He bends forwards, kissing Charlotte on her head. She winces and Christian draws back. "Another thing...when you fainted, you hit your head pretty hard. You hit the ground before they caught you. And thank God Taylor got there when you hit the pavement… He rushed you here when he saw blood and that giant knot on your head."

"You're telling me I look bad?"

"No. Purple is your color, Charlie." Christian smiles and he laughs. Charlotte manages a chuckle before looking at Christian worriedly. "It's going to be okay- I promise."

Charlotte reaches up, rubbing her aching head. "My head is killing me. Do you think I can have some pain killers, Christian?"

"They're afraid to give you painkillers because of a possible concussion. They're going to run a few tests, okay?"

Charlotte nods, leaning against the pillows. She manages a quiet conversation with Christian when there's a soft knock and the door opens. Charlotte lifts her head slightly to see a pair of powder blue eyes looking in at her.

"How is she?" Charlotte recognizes the person to be Anastasia Steele.

Christian looks up, offering a small smile. "She's awake. A little groggy, but perfectly fine."

"You mean besides a skull splitting headache and there's a knot on my head bigger than an apple? I'm fabulous."

"Stop being a smartass, Charlotte Grace," Christian says.

Charlotte smiles, looking at Ana who inches closer. "Hi, Miss Steele. I don't bite- you can sit down."

Ana takes a seat in a chair next to Christian. The brown haired girl gives Charlotte a pained look. "That looks like it hurts."

"I've had worse," Charlotte replies. "So, I see you've become taken with Mr. Grey? What did he do to sucker you into it?"

Christian pales and Ana coughs. "There was no suckering of any kind. He seems to be a genuinely good man."

Charlotte looks at Christian. "So is it true love or have you decided?"

Christian glares, opening his mouth to speak. His words are cut off when there's a knock on the door and Taylor calls him into the hallway.

"I'll be right back… You ladies keep each other company," Christian says. He bends over Charlotte, kissing her head softly. "Please, be nice. Or I'll be forced to give you sedatives."

"Some kind of pain medication will be amazing. If it makes me sleep it will be a plus." She makes Ana laugh and Christian's lips turn up into a smile.

Christian snorts inelegantly. "I'll be back, Charlotte."

Christian leaves the room, leaving Charlotte with Ana. Her gray eyes flit towards Ana and Charlotte gives the woman a smile. "So...what was you two love birds doing when you got the call I was being rushed to the hospital? Did he make it a date?"

"We were out town... He offered to have me taken home, but I wanted to come," Ana says.

Charlotte manages a smile. This one cares, Charlotte thinks. Most of Christian's women were upset by the idea of a daughter. Many didn't want anything to do with her- Charlotte didn't mind being ignored. She could take that. But when some of them were being total bitches? She tried to make their lives hell.

Maybe she can make an effort with Ana.

"You're okay with a man who has a child?" Charlotte asks. "You're okay with me?"

"If I wasn't, I could have said no. I talked with Christian and judging by some of the looks you give…"

Charlotte feels her face gets red and Ana chuckles. "By no means am I the easiest person to get along with…"

"I'm not going to take him from you…"

The door flies open and Charlotte's eyes meet Christian's. His face is pale and his eyes are wild. Charlotte's heart falters and she feels fear take her over.

"Christian?" Charlotte asks.

Christian walks over to Charlotte. He leans over the hospital bed's railing, taking Charlotte's face in his hands. "We're going to talk more when we go home, okay? In a few moments there will be some nurses to take you down for a CT Scan."

Charlotte nods, struggling to keep the tears at bay. Christian smiles sadly and not long after a team of nurses take her away, wheeling her to radiology for the CT Scan.

She barely keeps it together when Christian leaves her sight.

…

The doctors send her home with the diagnosis of a mild concussion. They warn Christian of the possible complications and to bring her back promptly if she becomes more groggy or confused. Also, they don't want him giving pain medicines for the next twenty-four hours.

The drive home is miserable. She sits in the back seat, curled tightly in Christian's jacket. Christian sits up front with Taylor and Ana is in the back with her. Charlotte doesn't speak in fear of bursting into tears.

She can feel herself becoming the little girl she was when she first met Christian. She was always scared and introverted. She couldn't bring herself to tolerate human contact in any form.

Charlotte feels she's going crazy.

There's an entire security team waiting for them. Charlotte gulps back panic, remembering when this was the norm for her and Christian during their first year together. He said he did it to keep her safe.

"I'm sorry to cut this short Miss Steele, but we're dealing with a family situation right now. I promise to contact you later, but Charlotte is my first priority," Christian says, turning to face them.

Ana nods, smiling. "That's perfectly okay. I'm glad to have been with you today…" Ana turns towards Charlotte and her grey eyes flit to the woman. "I hope you get better, Charlotte." Ana leans in for a hug and Charlotte barely brings herself to reciprocate the gesture.

Charlotte can't bring herself to smile. "Thank you, Ana."

Ana releases Charlotte and Christian arranges for her to be driven home by Taylor. Christian collects Charlotte from the car and they bid Ana a goodbye. Taylor drives off with her and Christian takes Charlotte up to their apartment.

Once they're behind closed doors everything comes out.

"That was Peter, wasn't it?" Charlotte looks at Christian, tears welling in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks.

Christian nods weakly. "Yes. Peter was released earlier this week on parole and he came back to the area."

Charlotte staggers to the couch. She holds her head in her hands, looking at the floor. Sobs begin to tear through her and tear blind her vision. "Then what will we do? If he gets me again I won't be lucky like I was the first time."

"I won't let that happen," Christian says. He sits next to Charlotte, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm going to make sure nothing bad will happen to you. I promise, Charlotte."

Charlotte looks at Christian, drying tears. "But what if he does? I'm really scared, Christian."

"I know you're scared," Christian says. He dries her tears, kissing her forehead. "I'm scared, too. But that evil bastard won't come near you. I'm upping security and, until we can do something about his presence, you're staying home full time."

"But what about school and finals and…?"

"We'll make it work, baby," Christian whispers softly. "Everything's going to be okay." He pulls Charlotte into his arms, holding her close. Charlotte hugs Christian tightly, placing her head on his chest. Christian tucks her head beneath his chin, pulling the trembling fifteen year old into his lap as she cries.

…

Christian carried Charlotte to bed. She said she could get there herself, but Christian said he didn't want to stress her more than she already is.

She didn't argue with him after that, letting him take care of her.

Christian tucked her into bed and joined her, too. The man brought his laptop- not to work, but for them to watch something. With Charlotte curled snugly next to Christian, he plays a television show on Netflix they could agree on- the Walking Dead.

"Christian?" Charlotte asks. Her voice is hoarse from all the crying.

Christian pauses their show, looking down at Charlotte. "Yes?"

She's not sure what brings it on. It even surprises her when she says it. "Will you attempt to try with Ana? Don't make her endure what you've put the others through."

Christian places his computer aside and he settles himself on his side so he's face to face with Charlotte. Charlotte looks up at her adoptive father, taking in his facial expression. He has been pale and wide-eyed more most of the night.

"Is this because you care about her or you're afraid?" Christian asks. He takes her hand in his, pressing their palms together. Charlotte's hands are tiny and dainty compared to Christian's.

Charlotte gives a shaky smile. "Both. She doesn't deserve it and neither do I. And you don't deserve to be left behind."

"It's going to be different this time, Charlotte. Ana awakens something in me that I haven't felt in a long time," Christian says.

Charlotte nods weakly. "And please, for the love of God, don't bring up that BDSM stuff. You'll scare her."

Christian's facial features morph into an expression of guilt and Charlotte glares. "You told her? And I assume you showed her the Red Room?"

"No! I'm not insane, Charlotte," Christian says.

"That's debatable," says Charlotte, snickering softly. Christian narrows his eyes, but he smiles.

"Well, instead of pestering me on what happens in my relationships, you should rest," Christian says. "You don't need to worry about anything right now."

"Sounds like a plan," Charlotte says as she pulls the blankets around her. "Good night, Christian."

Christian kisses her forehead, circling an arm around his daughter. "Good night, Charlotte. I love you, brat."

Charlotte chuckles. "I love you, too."


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks to everyone for the amazing reviews! I was so happy to receive each and every one of them. This chapter introduces more of Ana and Charlotte's feelings about her and the whole Peter situation.**

 **I hope everyone continues to read and enjoy!**

* * *

" _At this point in time, we're in a pretty fucked up situation…"_

Charlotte watches as Christian briefs the entire security team over Peter Sturges. He called them in early this morning- neither Grey slept well knowing that Peter was out there and they didn't have all their security detail.

Christian brings up a picture of Peter, his grey eyes holding rage and malice for the man. "This is Peter Sturges. The son of a bitch had been released from prison on parole- he was originally serving a ten year sentence. He was locked up on several counts of drug charges, endangerment of human life, kidnapping, and child molestation."

Charlotte feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks up to see Sawyer and the bodyguard smiles a little. "Easy, Grey. We won't let anything happen to you."

She smiles at Sawyer, leaning back in her chair. Christian is still rambling on about Peter, his face red with upset. "There's reason to believe that Charlotte is in danger with Peter Sturges in the area. If it were up to me, I'd have his ass thrown in jail. However, the best we can do is keep Escala guarded with security and keep Charlotte in the company of someone in the event she's gone from the apartment or if myself is away."

Christian draws up two papers, looking at Sawyer. "Sawyer, you're on Charlotte detail. Also...Worth, you're with Sawyer in this."

Worth, Charlotte remembers, is a tall, African American man with a shaved head and his muscles are as big and round as her thighs. Though he looks absolutely terrifying, he's one of the funniest men Charlotte knows.

"We've got you, baby doll!" Worth shouts and Charlotte laughs. The entire kitchen full of people breaks out into laughter, the mood going from serious to light. "If that man comes near you, I'll chop his dick off."

"Alright, gentlemen, dismissed," Christian says, still laughing. "I'll send any additional information later."

The guards file out of their living room, riding the elevator down to the lobby. They shout their goodbyes to Charlotte- the youngest Grey absolutely loves each and every one of them and it's clear they love her.

Once they are gone, Charlotte looks up at Christian who gives her a small smile. Christian lifts his hand, laying it on Charlotte's cheek. "You're going to be okay. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."

Charlotte smiles a little. "I know."

Christian pulls Charlotte to him and presses a kiss on her head. Charlotte hugs him tightly, her head resting on his chest. Christian practically crushes her, lifting Charlotte off her feet and swings her around, making Charlotte laugh.

Christian settles Charlotte on her feet. "We're going to have a good day. We're not going to worry about anything. Understood?"

"Understood," Charlotte says.

Charlotte and Christian lounge around the apartment. They play a game the PlayStation- courtesy of Elliot because he said they were boring, so he bought one for Charlotte's last birthday. Charlotte unmercifully kicks Christian's ass at a game of Mortal Kombat vs. DC and practically wins every game after because he lacks any gaming experience.

"You're cheating! You can't keep using that freezy-blast thing on me!" Christian says sourly as Charlotte wipes him out with Subzero.

Charlotte snorts. "Elliot is right- you're a sore loser."

Christian mumbles beneath his breath and stands, going to turn off their game. "I think we'll stop playing. Video games are bad to play for a long time."

"You're just afraid you'll lose!" Charlotte taunts.

Christian turns around and narrows his grey eyes. Charlotte can't help but to bust out into laughter despite her aching head and the death stare Christian is giving.

"I'll give you another concussion," Christian says. He flashes a smile and he laughs, too. "I'll beat you next time- I get better with each time we play."

"You say that every time. I don't see the fruits of that statement," Charlotte says, flashing a smile.

Christian opens his mouth to say something, but his phone sounds. Charlotte watches as Christian picks up his phone, answering the call. Charlotte watches as Christian completely turns into his businessman side, her father leaving.

Christian excuses himself, stalking into the kitchen to continue talking. Charlotte listens as Christian carries out the call- he doesn't sound particularly happy. Five minutes later he emerges from the kitchen with furrowed brows and he's rubbing his temples.

"If you'll excuse me a moment, Charlotte… I've got to fix something," Christian says. He smiles softly, reaching out to ruffle her pale curls. "I'll be in my office if you need me. I'll be done in a short while."

Charlotte flashes a smile at her father as he disappears upstairs. Charlotte is left by herself, playing the game a while longer before becoming bored. After, she moves towards the massive piano. Her grey eyes scan over the several keys and she reaches out, tapping a key softly and the piano creates a soft sound.

Soon, she becomes totally interested with the instrument. She creates soft melodies and plays her favorite songs.

Charlotte is playing Claire de Lune when she looks up from the piano, noticing that she has an audience. Her grey eyes take in the sight of a curious Anastasia Steele.

"Afternoon, Miss Steele," Charlotte says, offering a small smile at the blushing woman.

"I'm sorry I didn't let you know I was here… I heard you playing and it was beautiful," Ana says.

Charlotte chuckles. "Thanks… If you're looking for my father, he's upstairs in his study. Someone screwed something up with some of his funding."

"I take it he's a very upset man?" Ana asks.

"He's livid. If he gets mad enough, he'll start screaming," Charlotte replies. Then, she puts a finger to her lips and grins. She can hear Christian's ever rising voice and she can tell he's quite upset.

Ana laughs softly. "Is he always that hot headed?"

"Not at all. He takes jokes pretty well, but anything work related...he'll lose his head."

They fade into silence and Ana motions to the piano. "May I sit? I'd like to see you play."

Charlotte smiles a little. She scoots over, making room for Ana. "Sure. Do you know how to play?"

Ana seats herself next to Charlotte. The close quarters with Ana is enough to make her anxiety rise a little bit, but she doesn't let it get to her.

"I don't know how to play piano. I'm not sure I'd be talented with any instrument…" Ana's blue hues scan the several keys of the piano.

Charlotte chuckles. "Playing the piano was a nightmare at first. I'm sure everyone here at Escala wanted to set fire to this thing because I made horrible music."

"How could you be bad at this? You could be the next Mozart," Ana says softly. Charlotte only laughs.

"I'm much better with the string instruments. I was learning to play violin when I took up the piano…" Charlotte creates a soft melody by pressing a few keys, the sound and movement therapeutic to her.

She begins to play softly- just loud enough to drown out the screaming Christian Grey. Charlotte looks at Ana, giving her a look. "Sure you're ready for all that?"

Ana only laughs, her blue eyes following Charlotte's hands as they glide along the piano.

…

Charlotte, for a little while, pretends things are okay.

She doesn't think of Peter Sturges or the fact that there are guards downstairs to protect her from the man. She pretends that she's happy and nothing is wrong with her.

She sits in the living room with Ana, the two quietly talking. Charlotte feels at ease with Ana- like she could tell her anything. She doesn't fear ridicule or anything from the woman.

"And your favorite hobbies include what?" Ana asks, sipping at her tea.

Charlotte shrugs. "Umm... I read a lot of books. I love playing the piano and the violin. Does eating also count as a hobby?"

"Eating does not count as a hobby," Ana says, the two of them laughing. "And what do you read? Kids around your age like to read Harry Potter and all that."

Charlotte shakes her head. "I'm not a fan of Harry Potter in any way. I like the older stuff- I love Jane Eyre, A Tale of Two Cities, A Midsummer Night's Dream… Anything that's considered classic, so to say."

Ana seems to brighten up at that. "So...what? No Romeo and Juliet? Most girls your age love it."

"That play is horrendous. It is essentially about two sex-crazed teenagers. There's nothing romantic about killing yourself in the name of love or whatever they had."

"Could anything make you read it again?"

"Maybe if Tybalt killed Romeo. I'd read that," Charlotte says, earning a laugh from Ana.

Charlotte and Ana launch into a conversation about literature. Charlotte's glad to find someone who enjoys books as much as her- Christian didn't understand and Elliot wasn't all there in the head to know what she was talking about. Even her grandparents and Mia usually don't have the slightest idea of what she's talking about.

Christian comes downstairs when they're fully immersed in the topic of Jane Austen's books. Charlotte looks at him and Christian is giving a quizzical look.

"I see you two have made friends. It seems all of you book worms get along," Christian says, flashing a smile.

"Excuse me?" Ana asks.

Charlotte snorts inelegantly. "I think he just called us nerds."

"I did not! Stop trying to get me in trouble, Charlotte!" Christian narrows his eyes at his daughter and Charlotte gives him a brilliant smile. "It's excellent that you read books. It's much better than playing that PlayStation."

"He's still butthurt over losing to me in Mortal Kombat," Charlotte says. The expression on Christian's face makes her belt out in laughter and Ana joins in. She sinks onto the couch only to have Christian push a pillow teasingly over her face.

"She makes me out to be whiny," Christian says to Ana.

"Because you are," Charlotte says, voice muffled by the fabric of the pillow.

"But Ana doesn't know that!" Christian removes the pillow and sits on the couch next to Charlotte.

Charlotte smiles at Christian and he returns it, smoothing her wild blonde curls. He bends down, placing his lips next to Charlotte's ear. His voice comes out a quiet whisper.

" _Thank_ _you for getting along with Ana,_ " Christian whispers quietly.

Charlotte nods, smiling a little. " _You're welcome."_


	10. Chapter 10

**I have not abandoned this story. The last while I've had some health issues and my phone was conveniently wiped of all it's settings and data.**

 **With that being said, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. I'm not going to be serious this chapter and keep things light and funny- I'll introduce Ana to Elliot and bring about some laughter in the Grey family. I'm sorry the chapter is so short, but I promise a longer one come next week.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

* * *

" _Hey! You two can't do that!"_

Charlotte laughs gleefully as she takes first place in Mario Kart. Ana is behind her in second, giggling like a maniac because she helped wreck Christian- Ana dropping a banana peel and Charlotte conveniently hitting him with the green turtle shell.

"Quit being a baby," Charlotte says, turning a corner sharply.

"It's just a game," Ana says softly, but Charlotte winds up laughing and Ana does, too. Ana and Charlotte are left to battle while Christian struggles to get out of last place.

Christian glares at them. His voice mocks Ana's. "It's just a game."

Charlotte looks over at Ana. She raises an eyebrow at her, giving a small smile. "Do you think you can handle him? He's a gigantic whine-o."

"There are people worse than your father," Ana says, tapping a button on the controller and she releases a green shell that flies forwards.

Charlotte would have been able to miss her attack if her uncle wouldn't have ran into the apartment like a bat out of hell.

"Christian! You have the balls not to call me and tell me that my niece was in the hospital?!"

Charlotte watches miserably as Ana rushes across the finish line in first place. She turns around to glare at Elliot, almost throwing the controller at him.

"You made me lose to my dad's girlfriend!" Charlotte bellows. "I'm going to kick your ass, Elliot!"

Christian laughs aloud. Elliot's eyes nearly bug out of his head. "Christian, control your animal."

"I'll allow it," Christian says, smiling widely. "And to answer your question, I figured Mom would tell you."

"She did- this morning. But I could have hunted the asshole that did this to her. Was it that Thomas boy you're dating?"

"I fainted," Charlotte says, not wishing to go into detail about yesterday. The last thing she wants to focus on is Peter. "Now stop making a fool of yourself in front of Ana. You're going to run her off."

Elliot raises an eyebrow at that. "Ana? You mean that wonderfully beautiful woman sitting on the couch between you and your father?"

"Yes," Charlotte and Christian answer.

"So your dad isn't gay?" Elliot ask. "And Ana is willingly your father's girlfriend?"

"You are correct," Charlotte says.

Elliot grins wildly. He looks at Ana and he crosses the floor to sit with the three of them. Charlotte squeals when Elliot scoops her up and plops down on the couch with her in his lap.

"It's nice to see that you exist, Ana," Elliot says.

Ana chuckles. "It's nice to meet you, too. You're Christian's older brother, right?"

Christian coughs dryly. "Not by choice."

"I'm by far the best of the Grey siblings," Elliot says. "Charlotte here will say the same."

Charlotte shakes her head. "I'm not saying that. The man sitting right there has the power to ruin my life." Charlotte removes herself from Elliot's lap, standing up. "I'm going to get a drink. Any of you want something?"

The three adults give a shake of their heads.

Charlotte watches as Elliot picks up her controller. He grins at Christian and Ana, gesturing to the gaming system.

"Shall we play? I have superb gaming skills," Elliot says.

Charlotte chuckles, turning to go into the kitchen. She rummages through the fridge, finding a bottle of water when she hears Elliot screech.

" _It's too early in the game! You can't do that!"_

 _Yes- being a bad loser definitely is an inherited trait through the entire Grey family,_ Charlotte muses as she drinks her water.


	11. Chapter 11

**Sorry for the late update. I hope everyone enjoys this chapter- this chapter we see more Grey family dynamics and we see some thoughts from Christian on his daughter.**

 **Enjoy**

* * *

Charlotte breaks away from the bantering adults.

She took off upstairs to allow Christian, Ana, and Elliot to talk. The three adults had already pulled out a bottle of wine and Charlotte scattered upstairs, telling them that she's going to tend to some things.

Christian and Elliot were immediately skeptical of Charlotte's antics. Charlotte, instead of wanting to leave the three adults to themselves, wanted to talk to Thomas.

She hasn't spoken to him in two days. She owes him an explanation so he won't worry- even if she's going to have to lie about most of everything. She puts Thomas at risk if she tells him a word of what's happening.

Charlotte closes the door to her bedroom. She's confident that Christian and Elliot won't barge in on her- her father's much too taken with Ana and Elliot is hell-bent on making Christian look like an idiot.

She picks up her phone, turning it on. She hasn't used the device in almost two days and she has accumulated several messages.

 _Charlie? What's going on? ~ Victoria_

 _I'll kick your ass if you don't answer me ~ Lillian_

 _Charlotte, are you okay? ~ Thomas_

 _It's been two days ~ Thomas_

 _I'm getting really worried ~ Thomas_

 _Send me something, Charlie ~ Thomas_

Charlotte frowns at the messages. She clutches her phone tightly, tapping Thomas' messages first. She scrolls through them- there's probably thirty messages spanning the two days she's been cut off from the world.

She feels bad for having not spoke to him.

Charlotte searches her contacts, finding Thomas' number. She nervously clicks it, lifting the phone to her ear. The phone rings twice and she hears his worried voice over the speaker.

" _Charlotte_?" Thomas asks. He sounds relieved that she has called him.

"Hey, Tom," Charlotte says. She sits down at her desk, spinning around in the rolling hair at her desk. "How are you?"

Thomas releases a sigh. " _Better now that I know you're not dead."_

Charlotte chuckles. "I passed out and hit my head a little. No harm done."

" _I thought that you cracked your skull wide open_ ," Thomas says. " _For two days I've worried whether or you were fine and what was wrong."_

"Well, I'm okay, Tommy. I have a bit of a concussion," Charlotte replies, suddenly aware of the dull throb behind her eyes. "I'm fine, though."

" _Is that it?_ " Thomas asks. " _Just a concussion?"_

"That's it," Charlotte says, looking from her floor length window to the streets below. Fear quells within her- that somewhere out there, Peter is there, ready to snatch her.

" _Just...don't scare me like that again_ ," Thomas stammers. " _And what made you faint? Did you feel sick?"_

Charlotte releases a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I just haven't been feeling well. It's okay."

" _I just wanted to know,_ " Thomas replies. " _I hope you feel better. It's a little boring here at school without you."_

"Why not terrorize Victoria and Lillian?" Charlotte asks, a smile reaching her lips.

" _They're no fun. They just whine and won't argue back_ ," Thomas says sourly.

Charlotte chuckles, pushing her hair back from her eyes. "Well, bother them anyway." Then, her eyes cut to the door at the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs. "Uh-oh."

" _Is Christian coming to threaten me again?"_

"Sounds like my uncle, too," Charlotte says. Her suspicions are confirmed when Elliot and Christian poke their heads through the door. Her father wears a threatening expression and Elliot sports a smile that more or less makes him look like a serial killer.

" _Do I need to go?_ " Thomas asks.

"I was going to get off here anyways. I'll let you go," Charlotte says, staring the elder Greys down.

" _Bye, Charlie_ ," Thomas says. " _Have fun with your deranged family members."_

"Shut up, Tom. Bye."

Charlotte hangs up, placing her phone on the desk. She raises an eyebrow at the two brothers staring her down, crossing her arms. "Can I help you two?"

"You ditched us to talk to that _spaz_?" Elliot asks.

Charlotte glares. "You two have company downstairs."

Christian huffs, but he smiles maniacally. "I bet she was sexting."

"Christian!" Charlotte bellows. "You're a freaking _sick-o!_ "

Elliot bursts out into laughter and Charlotte throws the closest thing she has at him- that thing being a water bottle that was on her desk. It hits him in the head and Charlotte smiles triumphantly when his face flushes red with anger.

"Well, come down stairs when you're finished up here. I'm ordering from the Italian restaurant you like," Christian says, stifling laughter at Elliot who is now stomping down the hallway.

Charlotte nods. "Okay. I'll be downstairs in a moment."

"Okay, Char," Christian says, closing the door with a smile.

Charlotte huffs, wandering from the desk chair to her bed, flopping down against the covers. She rubs her aching head, careful not to disturb the large bruise on her head.

She's emotionally exhausted and she definitely feels the physical exhaustion from the last couple of days. The adrenaline has faded and sleepiness takes its place.

Rolling to her side, Charlotte lays against the many pillows, getting comfortable. She decides that Christian can wake her up when dinner arrives, hoping to catch a few winks of sleep.

…

~Christian~

"Where's your monster?"

Christian looks to his older brother. Elliot has pouted the entire time since Charlotte launched her attack on him. Christian often encourages Charlotte to torment Elliot- not for any particular reason except he thinks it's funny.

Christian sits the bag of takeout on the counter. "She said she was coming downstairs." Christian realizes his daughter is a private girl. She has a particularly hard time around people, so he suspects she needed a break from Ana's presence. "I'll go up and check on her."

Elliot frowns. "She looked upset. Do you think that the boy she's talking to said something?"

"The kid's terrified of me, so I doubt he said anything because Charlotte tells me everything." Christian finishes pulling out the take-out boxes and leaves Elliot to find his meal. "I'll be back. You and Ana serve yourselves."

He walks into the living room. Ana sits quietly on the couch- she's been rather quiet since Charlotte wandered upstairs. Christian wonders if it's because she's around two men- he'd be scared if he was around Elliot, too- or if she's more comfortable with Charlotte's company.

"I'm going to check on Charlotte," Christian says. "You can go to the kitchen if you'd like. I'll be down in a minute."

Ana smiles. Her smile is soft- the most gorgeous smile he's ever seen. She's all around a beautiful woman, and he doesn't want to mess this up like he has so many things. Charlotte's words ring in his mind- that both of them deserve to be happy.

Christian deserves to love someone and Charlotte deserves someone constant in her life- someone that isn't a man and completely has their shit together.

Christian wanders upstairs, walking to Charlotte's room. He opens the door, half-expecting her to be talking on the phone or ready to hurl something at him. Instead, she's curled up on the bed. Her chest rises and falls softly with each breathe and she looks at peace. Her face isn't riddled with the pain of nightmares and flashbacks of her horrid past.

God, he wishes that he could take away every bad thing done to her. His childhood was paradise compared to what Charlotte had. Even now, she can't be a normal teenager. She's being hunted down by the man who neglected and abused her.

Christian can only watch and wait for him to show up. He'll find some way to throw Peter Sturges back in prison. He won't allow him to hurt his daughter again.

"Is she sleeping?" Christian whirls around to see Ana peering into the room at the youngest Grey.

Christian nods. "Yes. She has had a rough couple of days… She was bound to crash sometime."

"The day I interviewed you two...she ran when I asked about her life before you…"

"Her past is complicated. Horrific, actually," Christian says. "It isn't some we bring up. It's better to leave it behind."

There's an uncomfortable silence when Ana asks: "How did you know you wanted her?"

Christian smiles a little. He remembers the first time he saw Charlotte awake. She was beneath a mess of tubes and wires. The most pitiful little thing he had ever seen. "I'd brought her to the hospital. I was on a run and we crashed into one another. She fell down and got hurt in the process. I thought she was some little kid chasing after a toy, but she was dressed in next to nothing. She was bloody and bruised… She was so scared of me. She was unconscious for two days after that and I didn't leave the hospital for a moment. I snuck into the PICU where her room was and I sat there for a while the second day. She woke up late that evening and looked up at me. She smiled at me and stuck her tongue out- called me a jackass because I broke her wrist."

Ana chuckles lightly at his story. "So it was love at first sight?"

"Something like that," Christian says. He smiles and closes the door to Charlotte's room, careful not to disturb her. "We should go downstairs and eat. I'll leave Charlotte to sleep; she was overwhelmed today."

Ana frowns. "It wasn't because of me, was it?"

Christian shakes his head. "No. She's just going through a hard time. Charlotte is well adjusted to you." Then, he takes Ana's hand. "She likes you- a lot. She lights up when she's around you. Charlotte has had problems with women in the past; you must be special to her."

Ana shakes her head. "Stop, or you'll make me cry, Christian."

Christian grins, but he leads Ana downstairs. Under his breath, he mumbles, " _What is it with you women and the waterworks?"_

Ana coughs, narrowing her eyes. "I heard they, Mr. Grey."


	12. Chapter 12

" _Where we goin', Mommy?" Charlotte asked in a sing-song voice. She held her mother's hand as they walked down the sidewalk together, looking up at her mother. Her mother had pale skin and sunken eyes. She was deathly thin, but Charlotte knew she was sick._

 _Her mother offered a smile. The smile was forced, but the five-year old didn't know the difference. A smile was a smile, and she liked them. "We're going to the park."_

 _Charlotte would have shrieked in excitement, but she knew her mother didn't like loud noises when she took her special medicine. "The park?! Why couldn't Daddy come? He pushes me the highest on the swings!"_

 _Daddy, Charlotte observed, did more with her than Mommy did. Daddy made sure she was fed and bathed. Sometimes, if he wasn't taking his medicine, he'd let Charlotte sit atop his shoulders. It felt like she was on top of the world and they'd walk to the park where they'd play. He'd push her high and it felt like she was flying._

 _"Daddy was sleeping. And he always takes you to the park," said her mother. "We'll play for a little while, okay?"_

 _Charlotte didn't ask anymore questions. Mommy often got frustrated with her when she asked questions. So, she skipped to the park while clutching her mother's hand. When the huge playground equipment came to sight, she looked to her mother._

 _"Can we race? Daddy always races me to the slides!" Charlotte said excitedly._

 _"Mommy isn't feeling well today. She doesn't have her medicine," she said as softly as she could._

 _Mommy usually got mad if she didn't have her medicine. There was a lot, too. Sometimes the medicine was big, white pills or small ones and they came in many colors. She told Charlotte it was bad to touch them- that it would hurt her._

 _Charlotte listened to that warning closely._

 _Charlotte took off to the swings. "Mommy, watch! I can swing all by myself!" She climbed into the swing and began to pump her legs like her daddy showed her._

 _"I see that, Charlotte," her mother said. "You're a big girl."_

 _Charlotte giggled- she liked that. Big girl. Daddy told her she was getting bigger every day. He said he would teach her to ride her bicycle soon without the training wheels because big girls could do it._

 _Then, she watched as her mother walked up to the swings. Charlotte feared she'd take her off and make her leave, but she walks behind Charlotte instead and pushes her, making her go higher._

 _Charlotte must to a ton of other things with her mother. She slides and goes across the monkey bars and plays ball. Her mother even packed her a snack so they could eat at the picnic tables._

 _Then, there's a man. Charlotte looks at him, narrowing her grey eyes. Her mother stood up and hugged him. Even kissed him. Charlotte knew that was wrong. Mommy was only supposed to do that to Daddy._

 _"You must be Charlotte," said the man. He bent down to her height. Charlotte frowned. She didn't like the way he looked at her. "My name is Peter, but you can call me Uncle Pete."_

 _Charlotte looks to her mother. "Who is this man, Mommy?"_

 _"A friend," her mother says hoarsely. She looks guilty._

 _Peter pulled a sucker from his pocket. "It's cherry flavored. Your mother says it's your favorite."_

 _Charlotte looked to her mother. "Can I take it? Daddy says I have to ask him before I take candy from a grown-up."_

 _"Yes," she said. Charlotte watched her mother place some bags on the table and swipe a plastic shopping bag up from the metal table._

 _Mommy bent before her. "Charlotte, I want you to be a good girl. Okay?"_

 _Charlotte frowned. "What're you talking 'bout?"_

 _"You're staying with Peter for a bit. Daddy and I have to do some things to the house. Okay?"_

 _Charlotte felt tears well in her eyes. "You comin' back?"_

 _"Soon." Her mother bent and kissed her forehead. "I love you, Charlotte Grace. Be good for Peter."_

 _Her mother took off, clutching bag. Charlotte's eyes overflow with salty tears and she wants to scream for her mother to come back. She feels a hand on her shoulder and she looks up at the man her mommy called Peter._

 _"C'mon, doll. We're going to my house," Peter said. He picked up her bags and scooped the girl into his arms._

…

Charlotte wakes up in a cold sweat. A scream is bouncing off the walls, shattering her ear drums.

But it isn't her scream.

It's Christian's.

Despite reliving her own terrors, Charlotte clambers out of bed and stumbles on trembling legs to Christian's room. The nightmares must be made for him to be screaming like this. He would have already been awake and probably playing the piano by now.

Opening the door, she sees Christian tangled up in his bed sheets. He looks like a child again- the little boy that Christian told her stories about. The little boy who was beaten and abused; the boy who lost his mother, leaving him in a big, terrible world.

Charlotte climbs into the bed and shakes Christian once. Twice. Then a third time. "Christian, you gotta get up. You're safe."

" _No! No!_ " Christian mumbles, his voice trembling. He holds the tone of a child.

"Dad, it's okay. It's not real." Charlotte watches as his grey eyes lock on her. Christian's face pales and she watches as his erratic breathing becomes a struggle for air. "You're safe. It's okay."

Charlotte frowns, squeezing Christian's shoulders. "It's okay. I had a bad dream, too." His breathing softens and he sits up, grey eyes meeting their identical. "Are you okay, Christian?"

Christian nods. "I'm fine." He smoothes Charlotte's blonde hair, studying her as if he's trying to seek injury. His eyes are fixated at her collarbone where the there are some cigarette burns peeking from her shirt. "I saw him doing it to you, too."

Christian's body tremors. "He was holding you down on the bed...like he would Ella. But he was pressing cigarettes against your body, and I couldn't stop it. All of a sudden it was like I was small again…and he was dragging me from under the table."

"Who, Christian? Your mother's pimp?" Charlotte asks.

"Yes," Christian says.

"We're both safe," Charlotte says, smiling sadly at her guardian. "He can't hurt you. Peter can't hurt me."

Christian pulls her to him. Charlotte is hugged tightly to Christian's chest and she can feel his shaking. "I know...but I can't live with myself knowing that something happened to you. I feel like I can't keep either of us safe, Char."

"We're going to be okay," Charlotte whispers weakly.

There's silence until Charlotte can speak up. "Can I stay in here tonight? I don't want to be alone."

Christian silently accepts Charlotte's request. He pulls the blanket up and Charlotte slips beneath the comforter. Charlotte lays her head on a pillow, sticking to her side of the bed. Christian stays to his side, the two facing each other despite the distance between them.

"Goodnight, Dad," Charlotte whispers into the darkness.

"Goodnight, Charlotte," Christian answers softly. His hand stretches out and Charlotte reaches out to meet his. "I love you, brat."

Charlotte smiles, squeezing his hand. "I love you, too."

…

"Christian, I don't want to go to Nana's! I want to go to work with you," Charlotte says. She looks at Christian with narrowed eyes as they eat breakfast.

Christian shakes his head. "You need to rest. It's only been three days since you got that concussion."

"But I'm fine." Charlotte says irritably.

"Your grandmother said you need at least a week to rest. Besides, I don't need someone at the office reporting me for child abuse because of your shiner," Christian says around a mouthful of scrambled egg.

Charlotte restrains the need to roll her eyes. "Why can't I just stay with Elliot?"

"Your uncle got drunk last night after he left the apartment," Christian says. "I don't trust my hungover brother to take care of my child."

Charlotte huffs. "You're just a stick in the mud."

Christian raises an eyebrow. "Do I sense attitude from you? I can go get the Attitude Adjustment."

The Attitude Adjustment is a paddle with holes poked through it- Christian says it's so a spanking hurts worse because the force of air won't slow the blow- with the the words "Attitude Adjustment" written across it in black Sharpie marker. To make it worse, Christian drew a smiley face on it. Charlotte hasn't ever gave Christian a reason to use it, but he loves to threaten her. Actually, he just uses it to scare her.

Charlotte grins. "I bet you'd love that."

"You're sick," Christian says, but he starts to laugh. "Damn it, why am I laughing? I shouldn't encourage this behavior from you."

Charlotte starts to laugh, too. Her and Christian are cackling when they hear elevator doors open to reveal none other than Miss Anastasia Steele.

"Came back for more, huh?" Charlotte asks.

"Stop being a pervert for, like, five seconds!" Christian says in exasperation. Charlotte smiles and she smiles bigger when Ana laughs.

"I forgot my wallet here," Ana says. "I'm sorry for not calling but Kate ran my phone dead." She has a blush spreading across her face and Charlotte looks to her father, watching his smile grow.

Christian nods. "No problem. Let me go get it." He stands, going to collect Ana's wallet. That leaves Charlotte with Ana, the two quiet in each other's presence.

"How are you, Charlotte?" Ana asks. "You were still asleep when your father took me home last night

Charlotte smiles. "I'm fine. So... I hope Christian got you back at a decent hour."

"I was back before ten," Ana laughs. Charlotte chuckles, sipping her orange juice.

"Do you want something to drink? I think Christian just brewed some coffee." Charlotte looks at Ana, lifting an eyebrow at her.

"No thank you, but I'd like to ask you something."

Charlotte nods, looking at her father's girlfriend. "What can I help you with, Miss Steele?"

"I'm going dress shopping after running a few places with Kate. I need your advice seeing as you know what Christian likes best."

Charlotte grins. "Using your boyfriend's kid to find things that will possibly attract him… You're pretty badass, Ana."

Ana gives something between a laugh and a cough. "I can't let Kate do it, or I'll look like I belong on a street corner. Christian wants to take me out and I want to impress him."

"Sure, but let me ask. He wants to send me to my grandmother's while he works." Charlotte looks over her shoulder to see Christian carrying Ana's forgotten wallet.

"Here is your wallet, Ana," Christian says. "I promise nothing is missing- I checked."

Ana smiles. "Thank you, Christian."

Charlotte looks up at Christian, offering a smile. "Hey, Daddy…"

Christian glares. "You only call me 'Daddy' if you want something."

"Hey! That makes me sound manipulative and mean, Christian Grey."

"Go ahead and say it. But if I say no, I mean no."

"Can I go with Ana? She wants me to help her with something," Charlotte says, looking at him pleadingly.

Christian gives her a look. "You know that your grandmother is getting you today." But Charlotte really knows why he doesn't want her to go. She could be followed by Peter or anything.

"Nana won't be here until ten," Charlotte says.

"She says you should take it easy."

Ana makes a sound. "I won't let her do anything too...rigorous. Kate and I will keep a close eye on her, okay?"

Christian seems as though he's powerless in the conversation. "Okay, but I need Charlotte to come with me. I need to talk with her."

"I'm sure she's better behaved than that," Ana says.

Christian chuckles, but Charlotte knows that it's forces. "Wait until she gets to know you better. She's a pain out in public…" Christian ushers Charlotte into the living room and closes the doors leading to the kitchen.

"Charlotte, be careful out there," Christian says. He looks terrified. "Peter is out there, and something could happen."

"I can't stay scared forever," Charlotte says. She feels a little nervous to leave the apartment, but she can't let her life revolve around Peter.

Christian sighs. His hands rest on Charlotte's shoulders. "I know that, Charlotte Grace. Just...stay with Ana and Kate. Don't get out of their sight."

Charlotte nods, but she gives Christian a look. "You wasn't going to let me go out without Sawyer, was you?"

"You're such a smart girl," Christian says, smiling. "He's going to be at least a block away at all times. You're to text him every thirty minutes. If not, he will consider you kidnapped and call the police. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," Charlotte says.

"Good girl," Christian says and he kisses Charlotte's head. "Have fun and be good. Listen to Ana. I'll call Mother and let her know that you've blown her off."

"You make me sound awful," Charlotte says, going to join Ana.

"Because you are," Christian says. "We're all good. Just gave her a pep talk about the Attitude Adjustment."

"Attitude Adjustment?" Ana asks, confused.

Charlotte glares at Christian who seems to be close to bursting into laughter. "He's an idiot. Ignore him, Ana."

"Come on, Charlotte," Ana says, placing a hand on Charlotte's back. Charlotte grits her teeth against the touch, but the pain soon fades. "I'll take good care of her, Christian."

Christian smiles. "I know you will. Bye, Charlotte; Miss Steele."

"Bye, Mr. Grey," Ana says, smiling.

Charlotte shudders. "You two are awful."

She can hear Christian laughing through closed elevator doors.

…

Charlotte sits in the back of Kate's car. When Kate saw her, the woman damn near tackled her to the ground in a hug and talked about how much she missed her.

"Now I can ask questions about your father and I get them directly from the source," Kate says excitedly.

Charlotte gives her a worried look. "Christian has taken restraining orders out on women like you."

Ana gives a pointed look to Kate. "Don't give Christian a reason to not let me take Charlotte out again. Besides, that new man of yours won't like you chasing someone else."

Charlotte smiles. "Who'd you find, Kate? He must be special to put up with you."

Kate grins widely while Ana laughs. "I like this girl." Kate scrolls through some pictures on her phone, trying to find one presentable to show her. Once she does, she shows Charlotte. "He looks good, doesn't he?"

Charlotte can't help but laugh. The man in Kate's photo is Elliot, slumped over on a bed. He's shirtless and surrounded by lost articles of clothing.

"What? Is he ugly?" Kate asks worriedly.

"No. That's my uncle," Charlotte says.

"You're seeing Elliot?!" Ana exclaims. She uses her free hand to grasp Kate's phone and she looks between it and the road.

Kate grins. "I'm seeing Christian Grey's brother?"

"Elliot didn't tell you who he was? Or you didn't ask?" Charlotte asks.

"It was a fling! Of course I didn't ask," Kate says. She looks at Charlotte and smiles. "Oh my God, if I marry Elliot, I'm going to be your auntie! This is going to be so much fun! And Ana is going to be your mom and we'll be sisters and we're going to be so happy all together!"

Charlotte is laughing by the time Kate finishes. She sinks into the back seat, covering her face with her hands as she cackles.

"Kate, you're scaring her," Ana says, her words garbled by her laughter. The car comes to a stop and Charlotte looks at their destination: a clothing store. "Okay, let the shopping spree begin." Ana looks at Charlotte through the rear view mirror. "I'm counting on you to not make me look like a hooker, Charlotte."

Charlotte smiles and Kate glares. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We'll talk about it more when we go inside."

The trio clambers from the car and walks into the store. Charlotte looks around the store, finding a selection of dresses. "What aren't you looking for, Ana?"

"I don't know… I guess I'm trying some dresses on."

…

"That dress is horrendous," Charlotte says, looking at the dress Kate picked out for Ana. The dress Kate picked is too big in the chest and an ugly color, but Kate insists that the dress is absolutely gorgeous.

"It is not," Kate argues. She smiles at Ana who is standing before them. "Give me a spin! Let's see how it looks."

Charlotte glares. "Don't, or your boobs are going to pop out of that thing." Charlotte grabs a dress she picked out- something much more flattering for Ana besides that atrocious garment Kate chose. The dress is peach colored that stops just above the knee and would properly cover Ana's chest and all.

"That dress is just right on her."

Charlotte rolls her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, Ana is part of the itty-bitty-titty-committee. She needs something to make her boobs looks good."

"Hey!" Ana exclaims, looking down at Charlotte.

Charlotte smiles. "No offense, Ana." Charlotte offers Ana the dress, pointing to the dressing room. "Change out of this hoochie outfit and put this on. You'll be much happier."

Ana is laughing at Kate's expression. The woman wears a mask of total irritation and Charlotte thinks it's hilarious.

Ana leaves to go change dresses and Charlotte is left with Kate.

"You're just as infuriating as your uncle," Kate says. Then, she smiles. "I like that. We're going to be great friends, Charlotte."

Charlotte chuckles and turns away from Kate, finding Ana stalking from the changing room. Charlotte whistles, making Ana's face glow red in embarrassment.

"You look gorgeous!" Charlotte squeals.

Ana smiles. "I feel gorgeous, but I don't feel great about the price tag."

Charlotte raises an eyebrow. She moves closer to Ana and peeks at the price tag- a dress that's three hundred dollars. Ana had clearly stated that she was on a budget and couldn't afford anything more than a hundred.

"Maybe we can find another like it?" Charlotte asks hopefully. She really doesn't want Ana to go without this dress.

Ana smiles sadly. "We'll see. I'll go try a few more on." Charlotte watches as Ana retreats into the changing rooms and closes the door behind her. Charlotte looks at Kate and grins widely.

"You're not?!" Kate asks.

Charlotte chuckles. "I am." Charlotte couldn't bear seeing Ana's face when she had to give up the dress. Personally, Charlotte liked it, too. "Make sure Ana doesn't come out of there until I've bought that dress, Kate."

Kate squeals, rushing to grab some more dresses to make sure Ana keeps trying them on. Charlotte walks away from the squealing Kate and finds the exact same dress Ana wanted in her size.

Charlotte only hopes that Kate picks out all ugly dresses, because she doesn't want Ana to find anything else.


	13. Chapter 13

**I apologize for not updating in so long. The end of the school year was crazy, and this summer I haven't found much time to sit down.**

 **I hope everyone enjoys the new chapter.**

* * *

" _What on earth did you buy?"_

Charlotte gives Ana a quizzical look as they exit the store. By some stroke of luck, Kate picked out dresses either too short or too big or too small. Charlotte was glad that Ana didn't buy anything- she really wants to give Ana the dress.

Charlotte shakes the bag. "I...bought a dress."

"I didn't see you trying any on," Ana says.

Charlotte scratches the back of her head. "Well, you were holed up finding the perfect dress, I needed to pick up something." Charlotte looks to Kate, giving her a pleading look as to ask for help.

"Yes! It's a little grey number that looks good, but she needs some kind of color," Kate says. Charlotte feels herself relax, relieved that Kate is willing to her. "She's one of the worst people to go shopping with."

Charlotte chuckles. "Well...I am Charlotte Grey."

Kate only drops her face into her hands. "This girl needs some serious psychological help."

Charlotte flashes a small smile and Ana laughs. Kate rolls her eyes as they clamber into the car, Charlotte settling into the backseat while Ana takes the driver's seat and Kate the passenger's.

Charlotte stashes her bag beneath her jacket and buckles her seatbelt as the car comes to life. Ana and Kate begin to chatter, so Charlotte chooses to look at her phone, surfing through her text messages.

 _Sawyer to Grey- this is your thirty minute check-in ~ Luke_

Charlotte rolls her eyes, but she texts back knowing that Sawyer isn't far away from her. Also, she knows her he'd call Christian and ignite the biggest search party in Seattle history.

 _We just left the store. I assume we're heading to a restaurant now ~ Charlotte_

There's a few minutes before Luke texts back.

 _Good. I'll use your phone's GPS to find your location ~ Luke_

Charlotte places her phone aside, looking at Ana and Kate who stare at her through the rear view mirror. "Is there a reason why you're staring at me like I've murdered somebody?"

"You're staring at your phone like you're going to chuck it out the window," Kate comments. "You were making faces."

"A friend is checking in on me," Charlotte says. She flashes a smile before looking back out the window. She wonders what Kate and Ana would do if they knew that one of Christian's bodyguards was following them for Charlotte's security. They'd probably shit bricks, Charlotte thinks, looking quietly out the window as Ana navigates Seattle's wet roads.

After about five minutes of driving, Ana stops outside of a little Italian restaurant. Charlotte immediately feels her stomach rumble and there's a whine from Kate.

"Italian? Why can't we stop for Chinese or Mexican?" Kate gives Ana a pouty look- her lip juts out and she gives big puppy dog eyes.

Apparently, this look doesn't work for Ana. "All we eat is Chinese and Mexican. Let's change it up and eat something besides Mu Shu Pork and tacos." Then, Ana looks back at Charlotte. "Besides, Charlotte likes Italian."

Charlotte grins widely. She softly nudges Kate, opening her car door. "Suck it up and eat some spaghetti, Kate."

Kate mocks her as they clamber out of the car.

…

The trio orders their meals- a salad for Kate and both Ana and Charlotte decide on Chicken Alfredo. After their waitress leaves, they tell stories, but Charlotte notices something bugging Kate due to the many glances she gives her.

"Okay, I've ignored it for long enough," Kate says, her eyes cutting to Charlotte. "What happened to you? That shiner is horrible." The blonde woman studies it over, green eyes deeply concerned.

"Nothing. I fainted a little," Charlotte says. She's suddenly aware of the dull ache behind her eye and down her cheek. Her stomach rolls uncomfortably when she thinks of Peter who had been watching her. "I fell before they could catch me."

"They tell me it's a need-to-know type thing," Ana says, studying Charlotte's swollen features.

Kate nods in some sort of acceptance. "I suppose. But if something else is going on, tell me. If that Thomas kid is pushing you around, I'll show him how crazy a woman can be."

"Thomas didn't do anything," Charlotte says, glaring at a smiling Kate. She can't help but to smile, too. Soon, they throw themselves into uncontrollable giggles and Ana puts her head down as if not to be seen with them.

Their food comes afterwards and the three dig into their meals, exchanging stories and threats with one another. During it all, Charlotte realizes that the moment will be over with all too soon. She'll go back to a place where she'll no longer feel safe. A place where she must constantly worry and watch over her shoulder lest something happen to her.

When leaving, Charlotte chooses to pay the bill for dinner despite Ana and Kate's protests. She wants to do something nice for them- they did offer to bring her along on this little outing when they shouldn't have.

Driving home, Charlotte begins to feel nervous. She wrings her hands where Ana and Kate can't see, dreading the moment it will all be over. She'll have to revert to her worrisome self.

Upon pulling up to Escala, Charlotte sees Luke waiting outside for her. The bodyguard flashes a wide grin, waving at the youngest Grey. She doesn't know how he did it, but Luke beat them back home.

"It was nice going out with you guys," Charlotte says as she is drawn in by Kate and Ana for a hug. "Promise that we'll do this again."

"Most definitely," Ana says as she pulls Charlotte close. "I'll have to talk your father into a sleepover with me and Kate."

Charlotte nearly laughs at her. "You're a funny woman. Have fun convincing Christian to go along with that."

"I have my ways," Ana says, kissing Charlotte's cheek.

Charlotte readies herself to comment on that, but she's pulled into a tight hug by Kate. "Dear God, you're going to crush me, Kate."

"I'll come and kidnap you- Christian's permission be damned," Kate says.

"I admire your determination," Charlotte says, chuckling. She pulls away from Kate, smiling softly at both women. "Thanks again for everything. I had a lot of fun."

"Don't mention it," Ana says with a small smile. "Tell your father I said hello for me."

"Will do," Charlotte says. "Be safe going back home."

Ana and Kate quickly agree and they leave and Charlotte looks back to Luke who smiles at her widely.

"Enjoy your day out?" Luke asks.

"I did," Charlotte says as she walks to join Luke. "Now I don't know what to do with myself."

"Mr. Grey wants me to keep you company in the apartment," Luke says as he leads Charlotte to the elevator. "I'm sure that we can play a video game or take out some cards."

Charlotte nods slightly. "Okay. Just let me put my things away." She clutches the bag containing Ana's dress close to her- she'd have to hide it in her room lest Ana find it somewhere in the house.

Once they reach the apartment, Charlotte goes upstairs while Luke begins to search through the video games, searching for something that they both can play.

Charlotte makes her way to her bedroom, opening her door. Automatically, she feels herself become chilled and she wonders if she had left her window open last night. Then, the strong smell of paint assaults her nose.

She searches the room until her eyes fall on the source- a picture.

It's one of the portraits that Christian has requested from Josè. She wears a sweet smile and has bright eyes. She's dressed in the little gray number Christian bought her.

Below her, in black spray paint with an ugly scrawl, is the single word **_MINE_**.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thanks to everyone for the amazing reviews! I was so excited to read each and every one of them and they were very inspiring.**

 **Warning- this chapter includes some language, so it is rated a strong T...because we all know how Christian Grey is.**

 **I hope everyone** **enjoys**!

* * *

" _You idiots really dropped the fucking ball!"_

Charlotte flinches at Christian's voice, rubbing her temple. On her left is Luke who volunteered to sit with her while Christian threw a total shit-fit on the guards and on her right is Elliot, both men trying to comfort her.

" _What the fuck do you mean you were playing a card game?! You had one job- one fucking job: you just had to sit on your asses and watch a damn camera!"_

When Christian had arrived home- Luke called Christian and Christian demanded that Charlotte be removed from the home and she be brought to GEH. When she arrived, Charlotte promptly burst into tears and Christian frantically checked her for injury and held her until she could gain her composure.

Charlotte hasn't felt fear like this in so long. It's the kind of fear that makes people tremble and think unreasonable things and makes it hard to breathe.

She never thought this would happen. She was sure she was safe- that she was out of harm's way. She thought she'd never see Peter again.

"Do you want something to drink, Grey?" Luke asks, his voice weak. "Want some water?"

Charlotte shrugs, continuing to run her aching head. "Yeah. Water will be fine." Then, she looks up to Elliot who is nervously bouncing his leg and looking between Charlotte and every possible exit as if he will run with her in the event that something should happen.

"You want something, too, Elliot?" Charlotte asks. "You look like you're going to have a heart attack."

Elliot nods. "I'll take a water." His voice is hoarse and Charlotte assumes that he's absolutely scared out of his mind. Charlotte would know- she is.

There's a moment of silence until the door flies open. Charlotte nearly throws herself into Elliot's arms and Luke and Elliot are startled, staring at Christian with wide eyes.

"Both of you- fired! You're fucking _fired_!" Christian bellows at the two guards in the meeting room, chest heaving up and down from losing his breath from screaming. "What the hell are you two sitting there, for?! Get out! Get out of my damn meeting room!"

Charlotte watches as the two guards run from Christian. Then, Christian follows close behind him, hands balled into fists. She's surprised that he hasn't beaten the hell out of them.

"And don't think for moment you're safe! If something happens to my child, I'm coming after you two dumbasses first!" Christian then stomps back into the office, breathing shakily and he closes the door.

Charlotte gives Christian a weak smile. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yes- a lot," Christian says. Then, his face morphs into one of anger. "We probably could have caught Peter today hadn't it been for those two idiots. We could have avoided this entire thing."

Charlotte huffs, leaning back against the chair. "What will we do now? He knows where I am...who I am."

"You'll be staying with Nana and Pops," Christian says, drawing a chair to sit in front of her. Charlotte feels a little better that she won't be in the apartment anymore, but she knows that there's still a threat.

Charlotte nods. "What about school?" She knows what Christian will say- he won't put her in public school anymore. If Peter can break into her home, he'd be able to wriggle his way into a public school.

Christian sighs. "We're going to home school. Tomorrow, I'm going to talk to the tutor we had before and see if she's still available. Okay?"

Charlotte clenches her jaw a little and tears sting at her eyes. She doesn't want to cry- she's done it much too often today. "Okay."

Christian reaches up, touching Charlotte's cheek. He smiles weakly at her. Charlotte knows that he's petrified right now. "It is going to be okay, Charlie. I'm not going to let anything bad happen to you."

"I know," Charlotte says, releasing a shaking breath. "I'm just really scared, Christian."

"I know," Christian soothes. "I'm scared, too. It's going to be okay, though." Christian stands up, carefully pulling Charlotte with him. "We're going to leave and get you settled in at Nana's. Of course, I'll be staying the night and your dimwitted uncle is staying, too."

Elliot throws an arm around Charlotte. He tries to make the mood lighter by being funny. "We can stay up all night and best Christian at Mortal Kombat.

Charlotte smiles lopsidedly at her uncle. Then, she looks up to Christian. He carefully touches her cheeks before nodding at the door.

"Let's get out of here, okay?" Christian offers a small smile before taking his phone out, dialing a number.

There's a few moments before there's an answer. Then, Christian speaks. "We're leaving the building. Watch the sidewalks and follow us as we leave. And so help me God, I'll fire every one of you idiots if I see anybody doing anything other than staring at the damn road or watching my child."

…

Charlotte keeps herself locked away in her room.

When she first started staying with Carrick and Grace, which was quite often, they prepared a room for her. Charlotte loved to have her own space here, and she loves it even more now because she can avoid everyone smothering her. The moment she stepped through the door, she was swarmed by Grace who worriedly checked her over and gushed out comforts. Charlotte was in no way amused, but went along with it because Christian would have gave her hell if she didn't.

She stayed downstairs for a while- long enough to play Elliot at a game of pool in the game room and have dinner. Then, she fled upstairs where she couldn't be crowded or coddled.

Here, she doesn't have to think about Peter or how horrid her situation is. She doesn't have to worry about being safe or watching her tongue. This is her last safe place in the world. These four walls are her protection and her shelter. Here, Peter will never be mentioned nor will he be her fear.

She just wishes all the bad things in her life were over with.

Charlotte is drawn from her thoughts by a knock on the door. She looks to see Christian entering the room, giving her a small smile.

"You've been up here a long time," Christian says softly. He closes the door behind him, joining Charlotte on the bed. "Mom and Dad were missing you and I had to deal with Elliot by myself. He wanted you to play the play station with him."

"I wanted to be by myself just for a little while," Charlotte says. "Everyone was making me nervous."

Christian's hand settles on her shoulder. "We just want you to be safe, Char. Besides, you know how overbearing Mom is…"

"I want everyone to stop treating me like I'm helpless." Charlotte sits up in bed, crossing her arms over her chest. "I was being watched as if I'd burst into tears. Nana would practically hold me whenever she got around close to me."

Charlotte drags a hand through her hair, looking up at Christian. "I want everything to go back to normal. I want to go to school and I want to be able to see Thomas and see my friends. And then everything is screwed up for you! We can't stay at home and you won't be able to go to work without the entire police department following you! And everything you have with Ana…"

Christian's hands grasp her face and he tilts her head up. "Look at me, Charlotte. It's scary and I know we're in a bit of a mess right now, but we're going to be okay. We always have been." Christian's hands drop to her shoulders and he gives a small smile. "Do you remember when I first got you, and I had to take you in to do an identification on Peter?"

Charlotte nods weakly, thinking back to that day. She had been swarmed by so many horrific emotions that she begged Christian to take her home.

…

" _Christian, no! I don't want to! Christian!"_

 _Since Christian had brought her in, Charlotte has done everything to get him to take her back home. She thought that she could be brave and identify Peter for the cops, but she was wrong._

 _She doesn't want to face him. She just wants Christian to take her home._

 _Charlotte feels Christian pull her off to the side, grasping her little hand in his. "Charlotte, it's okay. It's okay. He's behind bars and can't reach you."_

 _"He's going to know who you are! Then he's going to find you and me and he's…" Charlotte stares up at Christian worriedly, nearing full-on hysterics._

 _Christian gives her a sad smile. "No, he isn't. Peter will be going away for a very long time, Charlotte. He will be somewhere that he will never escape. He won't find me or you ever." He smoothes Charlotte's blonde curls, trying to offer some comfort to her._

 _"I need you to be brave, okay? You go in there and tell those detectives who he is so we can make him pay for what he has done to you and all of the other little girls and boys." Christian dries her tears, lifting Charlotte into his arms._

 _"What if he does something to us?" Charlotte asks, resting her head on Christian's shoulder as she sniffles._

 _Christian shakes his head. "He won't. You know why?"_

 _Charlotte gives Christian a look. "Why?"_

 _"Because you have me and I have you. We're going to keep each other safe," Christian says with a smile. "Got it?"_

 _Charlotte nods eagerly, winding her little arms around Christian. "Got it."_

 _…_

Charlotte flashes a weak smile to Christian. "You have me and I have you. We keep each other safe."

"That's my girl," Christian says, hugging the teenager close. "Don't forget it, okay? As long as we have each other, we're safe."

Charlotte hugs him tightly, her head resting on his shoulder. She almost thinks that she can fall asleep like that when Christian pulls away. "It's well passed midnight and you should be sleeping."

"I was, but you moved," Charlotte grumbles, glaring teasingly at Christian.

Christian smiles, taking a pillow and he knocks Charlotte over. "I'll see you in the morning, Char. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Christian. See you in the morning," Charlotte says, tucking the pillow under her head as she crawls beneath the covers.

Christian leaves the room soon after and Charlotte lays still in the darkness, trying to fall asleep. She must toss and turn for hours until she finally falls asleep, repeating Christian's words in her mind.

 _You have me and I have you. We keep each other safe._


	15. Chapter 15

**I** **apologize deeply for not updating. Not long ago I started my Senior Year of high school and things are a little hectic.**

 **I'm so glad for everyone's reviews and favorites and follows! I can't believe I've racked up over a hundred reviews and over 200 of you like my story. It's a truly inspiring thing to know that you all care enough to read and leave your thoughts.**

 **Anyhow, I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. It may be a little short considering my new schedule, but I hope everyone enjoys it.**

* * *

 **It's been a week since Peter made his reappearance.**

This week has been the longest, hardest week of Charlotte's life. She is reverting to that scared little ten-year-old she came to Christian as so few years ago. They can hardly coax her from her room; she won't dare step a foot outside the front door; her nights are spent being taken through every horrid memory Charlotte has of her five years with Peter.

Christian has released all of his information on him. Charlotte stayed close to him while Christian gave a detailed report on what took place at the apartment to police and detectives. He has meticulously reviewed his security staff and got rid of anyone that he didn't deem fit. Hell, he pulled all of the security footage and Charlotte sat with him and they reviewed it until they came up with some evidence Peter got into the apartment, and he had.

Footage showed Peter Sturges skipping into the apartment happily while he vandalized Charlotte's portrait.

Now the question remains of how he got into the apartment.

It was plastered all over the news for Peter's capture. Every night, it describes him as a dangerous man with the charges of rape and kidnapping, but Charlotte knows that he deserves more.

Charlotte knows every horrid thing that happened in the basement that she was trapped in. She knows every dirty secret of Peter's because she was at the root of them all.

A knock on Charlotte's door draws her attention. Charlotte looks over to see Christian stepping into the room, holding a plate of what must be for dinner- roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and some kind of vegetable.

"Hey, Charlie," Christian says softly. He edges closer and closer until he's sitting on the bed, offering a smile. "Think you're up to eating something? Mom said you haven't had much today."

Charlotte looks distastefully at the food. Her stomach has been a mess most of the day and she hadn't brought herself to eat much of anything. She managed a few things at breakfast, but her appetite left the moment Christian left the house for work.

Christian started work again today and Charlotte was an absolute mess. She _begged_ him not to leave her and he held her until she could gain her composure, telling her that she was well protected here with her grandparents. He had called in some of his best guards to patrol- Sawyer and Reynolds being amongst them.

The blonde reluctantly takes the plate. She knows Christian will throw a fit if she doesn't eat something. "I've felt terrible all day."

"It's just your nerves," Christian soothes, lightly nudging her. "They'll settle soon."

Charlotte begins to pick at her food, nibbling at the chicken and vegetables on her plate. They sit in silence for a while, but Christian interrupts it from time to time to tell Charlotte to eat.

Once half the plate is finished, Charlotte pushes it away and Christian doesn't push her to eat more. The air around them is tense and Charlotte doesn't know what to say to him. Christian's arm drapes around her shoulders. His other hand comes up to softly grasp her chin, having her look up at him. "I know this is hard, but things are going to be okay."

Charlotte gives him a challenging look. How does he know that everything is going to be okay? He doesn't know what's going to happen. Something horrible could happen to both of them because Peter is sneaky and slippery enough to get by with anything.

"How can I believe you?" Charlotte asks shakily.

Christian gives her a look. "Have I ever lied to you, Char?"

"No," Charlotte answers hoarsely, leaning her head heavily against Christian's shoulder. Christian wraps an arm around her skinny frame, hugging her close.

They sit in comfortable silence until Christian smiles. "I saw Ana today."

Charlotte perks up at that. She hasn't done much to talk to anybody this week, too terrified to call out to anybody lest Peter somehow hurt them, too. "What'd she say?"

"Well...she said that Kate is driving her insane and she needs like minded company for the weekend," Christian says, grinning widely.

Charlotte smiles up at him and Christian chuckles. "I told her that you could stay...but it depends on you stepping foot out of the house."

Charlotte frowns at that. She has almost no desire to leave the house, but going to stay a weekend with Ana and Kate? That motivates her to want to go.

"If you go, I'd have guards nearby. They'd be watching for anybody who seems...sketchy. Besides, Kate would probably gouge somebody's eyes out with her heels, so I'd almost dismiss the guards."

Charlotte laughs at that- the first time she has laughed in nearly a week. Christian smiles at her and touches her cheek. "I'll tell Ana that you're considering to stay...but you have to come downstairs first."

"You're not doing this," Charlotte says narrowly, arms crossed over her chest.

Christian offers a wide smile. "I am. Come on- let's get going, Char."

Reluctantly, she follows.

…

As promised, Christian calls Ana and Kate, informing them that Charlotte would like to spend the upcoming weekend with them.

Charlotte couldn't help but to laugh at Kate. She could hear Kate's voice over the phone, the blonde woman loud and bubbly. " _Tell Charlie that I love her more than Ana does!"_

Ana said she was excited and claimed that their weekend would be fun. Charlotte grew increasingly excited and just the thought of being able to do something that doesn't revolve around her safety or the thought of Peter lurking.

She wants to feel like a normal person for once.

She sits quietly with Christian now. They opted to watch something on television that they could agree on, curled up on the giant couch with mounds of blankets and pillows.

"Christian?" Charlotte asks, drawing her blanket around her.

Christian hums softly in response, looking at Charlotte with an eyebrow raised. "What is it?"

Charlotte looks over to her guardian. Christian looks out of character curled amongst the teal blue blanket that they pulled from the linen closet that belonged to Mia. "Are you dating Ana?"

"Well...yes," Christian says with a slight smile. His eyes twinkle and Charlotte can tell he's happy. "We went out for lunch today and we talked about what we wanted... and we want to try it out. I love the idea of being with her and she likes being with me. And God...you're all she talked about after I brought you up."

"Is this where the sleepover came about?"

"Yes...and Kate has been badgering her for a damn week," Christian replies with a chuckle. "That woman loves you, Charlie."

"Think she's the one?" Charlotte asks, yawning as she burrows into the couch.

Christian gives her a thoughtful smile. "'I don't know yet. Time will only tell and we'll cross that bridge when we arrive."

That seems to be enough for Charlotte at the moment. She simply lays her head down, feeling oddly content versus the distraught feelings she had earlier.

Christian nudges her with his foot. "I love you, freak."

Charlotte smiles crookedly and gives him a soft kick back. "I love you, too, weirdo."


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks to everyone for the reviews, the favorites, and the follows! They were awesome and inspiring and I loved it all!**

 **This chapter is kind of a filler. The next chapter we will definitely see the girls together and a touch more into Ana and Charlotte's relationship.**

 **I hope everyone enjoys this chapter!**

* * *

 ** _Charlotte didn't know what to make of the man in front of her._**

 _She knew only two things about the man: he's Christian's older brother and his name is Elliot. Christian talked fondly about him and said that he was nice and they'd get along swimmingly because he acted like a child even though he was well into his twenties._

 _"Why is the kid glaring daggers through me?" Elliot asked, his eyes studying Christian's new charge. "Did I say something?"_

 _Christian took Charlotte's hand and smiled softly. He squeezed her fingers and offered some reassurance. She didn't do well with new people at all and she only tolerated Christian._

 _"She just has a hard time with people," Christian said gently. He smoothes her hair softly. "She could hardly bring herself to talk to Dad and Grandpa."_

 _Charlotte had met Carrick and Theodore earlier and she wasn't thrilled to be around the two men. Of course, Christian was there to calm her nerves and his mother, Grace, was there to help keep her calm._

 _Charlotte looked up at Elliot and the man smiled. He extended his hand and Charlotte stared warily at him. "Nice to meet you, twerp. I'm your Uncle Elliot."_

 _"I'm Charlotte," Charlotte replied, giving Elliot the ghost of a smile. She still didn't take his hand and clung to Christian like he was her lifeline._

 _Elliot gave a look. "Charlotte is way too serious a name for you… I'm going to call you Charlie."_

 _Charlie, Charlotte thought. She hadn't been called the name before and Christian just called her Char. She decided she liked the nickname and gave Elliot the nod of her head._

 _"You like it- good. I was going to call you Charlie whether you liked it or not," Elliot announced teasingly._

…

 _After meeting Elliot, Charlotte met their little sister, Mia._

 _Charlotte thought the world of Mia the moment she met her. Mia was bubbly and smiley and she was a breath of fresh air. Mia promised that they would be closer than sisters and they would do everything together- starting with a new wardrobe._

 _Then, they showed her around the house. Charlotte was able to see the game room, bathrooms, everyone's bedrooms, and the dining room and both dens. Also, they took her to see their swimming pool that was heated during the winter months to keep the water warm despite Christian's protests._

 _"Charlotte, it's awfully chilly out here," Christian said."You're still sick and you don't need to be in this weather too long." Charlotte was only getting over an upper respiratory infection she was struggling with the last month since Christian brought her home._

 _Elliot gave him a look. "She's okay, Christian." He then resumes talking about how cool their heated pool was and told her he'd be the cool uncle and teach her how to swim properly in the deep part of the pool._

 _She looked into the shallow end of the pool curiously and before she knew it, she felt a push between her shoulder blades and was sent flying into the water._

 _Once she finally stood up in the water and coughed up all the water she had sucked in, she heard Elliot laughing. Christian, of course, was livid and demanded that Elliot get her out of the pool before she got any sicker._

 _"She's going to get even sicker!" Christian cried as he shed his jacket and moved to help her out of the pool._

 _"Children are surprisingly resilient," Elliot commented with laugher and reached down to pull Charlotte from the water. "I'm sorry, kid. I meant to push you...just not into the pool."_

 _Charlotte gave Elliot a small smile. "S'kay." She took Elliot's hand, but instead of letting him pull her up, she pulled on his hand and grabbed his shirt with all her ten year might and pulled him into the pool with her._

 _Elliot hit the water with a splash and a mess of kicking limbs. Christian was howling with laughter and bustled over to quickly pull her from the water._

 _"That's my girl...already terrorizing Elliot," Christian claimed rather proudly, wrapping a sopping wet Charlotte in his jacket. He scooped Charlotte up into his arms, settling the ten year old against his body._

 _Charlotte looked to Elliot as he clambered from the pool. He was coughing and sputtering, but he was smiling. "You're taking lessons from Christian, aren't you? You're mean!"_

 _Then, after a slight pause, Elliot grinned. "You and I will be best friends_."

…

" _Can you two do anything other than lay on the couch? This isn't healthy."_

Charlotte gives Christian an inquisitive look. Her eyes dart back and forth between him and the television. So far, Charlotte has hoarded herself on the couch with Elliot and the two have initiated a horror movie marathon. As of now, they're watching a horror movie called "Thirteen Ghosts," which is a much better trade off than the Final Destination movies because they freak her out.

Elliot glares a little. "We're watching movies. Are we doing drugs? _No_. Is your daughter macking any men? _No_."

Charlotte can't help but laugh at Christian's expression. The man wears what Charlotte calls his "Bitch Face." An eyebrow is cocked, lips set in a line, and eyes cold. It'd scare anyone, but Charlotte laughs every time he graces the world with the expression.

"He has a point," Charlotte says, wincing when Christian's expression turns darker. "What do you want me to do? I'm cooped up in this house because I have a maniac after me!"

Elliot grins. "Exactly. We've only got her out of her room. Watching television won't kill her, Christian."

"I guess," Christian says as he pulls his jacket on. He decided to go into work late to spend the morning with Charlotte and as soon as he went to ready for work, Elliot suggested a movie marathon on the couch. "Just make sure she eats something today- and do something other than watch television. And don't watch any of the Saw movies. They give Charlotte nightmares."

"They do not," Charlotte grumbles, eyes back on the television.

Christian gives her a look and smiles. "Whatever you say."

At that Charlotte rolls her eyes and Christian gives her a small thump on her shoulder. "Don't roll your eyes at me. I'm your father."

"Oh, hush up and go to work," Charlotte says teasingly. She grins and Christian who bends over her and kisses her forehead. "Bye, Christian. Love you."

"I love you, too," Christian replies, playfully smacking Charlotte's arm. "Be good- give Elliot a hard time."

"Will do," Charlotte answers and offers Christian a mock salute.

As Christian sets out the door, Elliot calls at Christian over his shoulder. "Are you going to kiss me goodbye?!"

Christian's reply comes a moment later. "Why would I kiss _you_? Ugly." Then, the door closes and Charlotte is left howling with laughter while Elliot pouts.

"Poor thing...didn't get a goodbye kiss," Charlotte says, drawing her blanket around her body. "Too bad you have a face only Nana can love."

Elliot kicks her a little. "I'll have you know I'm very handsome- at least Kate thinks so. And besides, you and Christian are just mean to me."

"Sounds like a personal problem," Charlotte says. "I know an excellent therapist."

Elliot glares. "Shut up or I'll make you watch all the Saw movies with me."

Charlotte just burrows beneath her blanket, howling with laughter.

…

They spend the better part of their morning watching scary movies until Grace chases them from the living room.

"You two can do anything but sit in front of the television all day," Grace had claimed as she shut the television off. Charlotte and Elliot had protested, but were silenced by her stare and they proceeded to flock to the kitchen for lunch.

Elliot scavenges through the fridge for something to make sandwiches with while Charlotte raids the pantry for chips. She knows Christian wouldn't be fond of her lunch choices- Gail would always pack her something healthy and she had well balanced meals for breakfast and dinner. Christian was all about fresh fruits and vegetables and was a complete nutrition freak.

Charlotte snorts inelegantly as she finds a bag of chips. "It's okay...potato chips count as a vegetable.

When she emerges, Elliot is at the counter making their sandwiches. "Hope you like turkey- that's all that Mom had."

"That's fine," Charlotte comments as she adds her contribution to their meal on the counter.

"Good," Elliot comments. "Because you'd eat it anyway. Oh, and check your phone. It was vibrating like crazy. Probably Christian being an ass…"

Charlotte rolls her eyes, mumbling beneath her breath as she pulls her phone out. "Like I said before- sounds like a personal problem. I can get in touch with Flynn if you're in need of a good therapist."

"Can it, Charlie," Elliot grumbles as he begins to pull out bread for a second sandwich.

Charlotte chuckles and begins to scroll through her messages to see if Christian messsged her, but none of them are from him. Instead, she finds messages from her friends in her phone.

 _We haven't seen you in a week. We're scared - Victoria._

 _Char, what's wrong? - Lillian._

 _I'm really scared, Charlie. Please tell me something- Thomas._

Charlotte releases a shuddering breath. She realizes that this last week, she hasn't told anyone that she was okay. Obviously they know that she's in danger because of some creep walking the streets, but they don't know everything.

They wouldn't want to be friends with her if they knew everything that was wrong. Besides, she's putting them in danger if she lets them know what's fully going on. She can't let them get hurt because of her selfishness.

With trembling hands, Charlotte clicks on Thomas' message. She feels like she owes him more of an explanation than she does Victoria and Lillian. They had all these plans and Charlotte has to go into hiding because of some jerk out to get her because she's the one that got away.

It takes a moment, but Charlotte carefully types out a messages that hopefully will make Thomas feel better.

 _I'm okay- promise. There's just a lot you're better off not understanding, Tom… I don't know if this tells you anything or not, but I'm fine. Soon as everything gets better, I'll come see you.- Charlotte._

Charlotte looks over the message and decides to click send. She feels an air of relief washing over her, but she feels nervous all the same. She hopes that the message makes everything okay- even just for a short time.

She can't bear to have her best friends hate her.

" _Charlotte_!"

She rockets out of her thoughts to see Elliot staring at her. Charlotte raises an eyebrow at the man and crosses her arms. "What?!"

"Kate wants to know pink or purple?" Elliot is staring down at his phone and Charlotte gives a look. "She said she's neither is not an option. And you can't pick another color."

Charlotte chuckles. "What's it to her?"

"Something about this sleepover this weekend. Apparently you and her and Ana are doing nails," Elliot says.

"Tell her I said purple," Charlotte says, turning her eyes down to her own phone. She hears Elliot respond to her and he goes back to texting Kate back.

Charlotte feels her phone vibrate and the screen lights up with Thomas' name.

 _I_ _miss you. Can you tell me what's wrong? -Thomas._

Charlotte sighs shakily and responds back quickly. _I miss you, too. I can't say, Tom. I'm really sorry- but I'm fine and I'll see you soon. - Charlotte._

 _Then, he types back just a moment later. Promise me, Grey. - Thomas._

 _Promises_ , Charlotte thinks. To her, promises are funny things. When she was growing up, promises weren't made or they were broken. Her parents never kept them and Peter never made them. It wasn't until Christian came along that she slowly began to trust as those promises were kept and followed through with.

She thinks she can uphold this promise, though.

 _Promise- Charlotte._


	17. Chapter 17

**First off... I do apologize for not updating sooner. I'm approaching the end of my semester and so far, this block scheduling thing is killing me. I do, however, have Christmas break coming soon and I plan to get a bunch of chapters posted.**

 **I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. This chapter includes Ana and Kate and we will definitely see some relationship growth between Ana and Charlotte in the next.**

* * *

 ** _Friday comes quicker than Charlotte could have anticipated_**.

Monday turned into Tuesday and so on, bringing the weekend. Charlotte could hardly wait- she had several calls from both women who asked subtle questions about what she enjoyed and Ana asked what they'd cook for dinner on Friday and Saturday. According to Kate, she has a whole itinerary planned out and is eager to have her for the weekend.

Charlotte thinks getting away from Bellevue will do her some good. Most days she has Grace and Carrick as company and others, she's kept sane by Elliot who keeps them in more trouble than she knows what to do with.

She wants one weekend of normalcy. Just one weekend to be a normal teenager and do things she hasn't done in a long time.

"Do you have your meds?" Christian asks, his eyes scanning over Charlotte's overnight bag.

Charlotte glares at Christian. So far, he's been more nervous than Charlotte has. He's pestered her over her clothes, phone charger, and a hundred different things that she could possibly need.

"Yes, I have all of my meds- enough to be my own walking pharmacy," Charlotte says with a sigh. She scans through her bag again to appease her overprotective father, knowing that he'll be calmer if she goes along with his antics.

Christian gives her an inquisitive look. "And what about an extra change of clothes? You never know if something could happen."

"I have those. Am I forgetting a sippy cup and a pull-up?" Charlotte asks narrowly, arms crossed.

"Okay, smartass," Christian mumbles. He sighs heavily and rakes his fingers through his hair. "Sorry...I'm nervous because you're leaving with all of this shit happening."

Charlotte can see his point. She has been nervous, but she realizes Christian is just a nervous wreck. Besides, she can count how many nights she has spent away from Christian on one hand.

"I'm spending two days with a woman who you apparently trust with my life," Charlotte says. "Ana won't let anything happen to me- and we both know that Kate is freaking psychotic and will kill someone."

Christian laughs slightly at that. "Since I've had you, you've only had three nights away from me. It's unnerving not to have you down the hallway."

"I'm a big girl, Christian," Charlotte says gently. "I'm not going to need my dad forever."

"We'll worry about that when the time comes," Christian says, smoothing Charlotte's blonde hair that he himself worked into a long French braid. Then, his eyes cut to the digital clock on the nightstand and he gives a nervous sigh. "It's almost five and Ana and Kate are expecting you at seven."

Charlotte grins widely and grabs her bag. "Well, let's go then." Before she goes, she peers out the window to see an entire team of Christian's security detail. "What'd you bring- the entire S.W.A.T. team?"

Christian pecks her cheek before bustling out the door. "Just precautionary measure. Besides, most of them will be scattered around the area tonight."

Charlotte just shrugs as she heads out the door. Once she gets downstairs, she's smothered in plenty of affection by her anxious grandparents and Elliot who seems as apprehensive as Christian.

"Be careful," Elliot says. He kisses her forehead and hugs her tight. "Give Kate a hard time for me and do something embarrass Christian in front of Ana."

Charlotte smiles softly. "I'll try my best. Don't do anything too fun without me."

"Never," Elliot says with a wide smile. "Be good."

Then, she's outside and some sort of strange fear takes her over. Her grey eyes scan the outside world she hasn't seen in nearly two weeks. It's as if she's expecting Peter just to come find her and attack her.

Charlotte scatters next to Christian who wraps a comforting arm around Charlotte. He hugs her close and leads her to the waiting car where Taylor is holding the door open.

"Nice to see you again, Miss Grey," Taylor says, smiling softly.

Charlotte gives him a shy smile. "Hi, Taylor."

Once she's safely tucked inside the car with Christian, they're on the move. Their car is in the midst of several BMWs that will keep them safe during their ride to Portland to Ana and Kate's dorm.

"You don't look excited," Christian says, squeezing Charlotte's fingers.

"I-I am… I'm just nervous." Charlotte releases a shuddering breath and looks up at Christian.

He smiles down at her and touches her cheek before nudging her. "You're going to be just fine, Char. Tonight, you're going to be brave. Okay?"

Charlotte nods gently. "Okay."

…

" ** _You knock!" Charlotte exclaims, giving Christian a threatening look._**

Christian gives the sheepish fifteen year old a look. "You're just knocking on a door. Stop being such a baby."

"Then you can knock on it if it doesn't seem like a big deal!" Charlotte chalks everything up to being nervous and she's confused as to why she's panicking about a door. "Not unless you're nervous…"

They must stand there arguing for a good five minutes before the door opens to reveal a grinning Kate. Oh, damn, Charlotte thinks as she's drawn into a hug by the bubbly blonde. She hugs Kate awkwardly, patting her back.

"Kateee!" Charlotte exclaims, drawing out the "E" at the end of her name. "You're strangling me! Let me breathe." From behind, Christian is laughing loudly and Charlotte huffs- she'll definitely get him back.

So, Kate does. Charlotte is settled on her feet and she looks up at Kate with a lopsided smile. "I'm happy to see you, Kate."

"I'm happy to see you, too! I swear you get prettier every time I see you," Kate gushes, giving a wide smile. Charlotte knows then why Elliot is head over heels for the woman- Kate is the female version of him.

Charlotte gives a sheepish smile. "I'm not that pretty."

"Stop being so modest," Kate says. "You're just like Ana."

Then, as if on cue, Ana comes bustling to the door and promptly knocks Kate out of the way. "Stop being an attention hog, Kate!" Ana smiles softly and draws Charlotte in for a hug. Charlotte reciprocates the hug, lifting her arms to surround Ana's waist.

"How are you doing, beautiful? I haven't heard from you in awhile," Ana says, giving Charlotte a final squeeze before releasing her.

Charlotte smiles. "I'm fine, Ana. How are you?"

"Good. I'll be even better if you and Christian come inside instead of standing in the doorway," Ana says and Charlotte follows her inside the dorm, Christian trailing closely behind.

Charlotte looks around at the place. Kate and Ana have decorated it rather uniquely and she smiles a little. "This place is really nice, guys."

"We won't be here for long," Ana announces. "As soon as we graduate, we're moving to Seattle."

"Really now?" Christian asks curiously. Charlotte looks over her shoulder and gives Christian a knowing smile. If anyone knows how Christian's mind works, it's Charlotte.

Pervert, Charlotte thinks amusingly.

Ana offers Christian a shy smile. "Yeah. Kate and I will be sharing an apartment after we graduate."

Christian grins widely before coughing a little, looking out the door. "Well, ladies, I should be getting back home. I'll leave my Charlotte in your capable hands."

"Sure you don't want to stay longer?" Ana asks, lifting an eyebrow.

Christian smiles and it's a smile Charlotte has never seen. He's in love. Christian Grey, who has never loved a woman, has found his entire life inside of Anastasia Steele. Charlotte realizes that she's okay with it, too. She's happy for Christian to have found someone to love him like he needs to be loved.

She's happy Christian found someone who will love her, too.

"No- this weekend is about you girls," Christian says. He walks forwards and hugs Charlotte tight, kissing her head. "I don't want to intrude on you three. So, just enjoy yourselves and be safe."

"I will," Charlotte says, hugging Christian close. "Be careful driving home."

"Always, Char," Christian says. "Be good and call me before bed, okay?"

Charlotte nods and breaks away from Christian. She watches, amused as Christian sweeps Ana into his arms and kisses her.

Charlotte rolls her eyes. "Okay, horndog. Leave before I suddenly have a little brother or sister."

When they break apart Christian's eyes are narrowed and Ana's face is red. Charlotte can't help but laugh and she laughs even harder when Kate begins to laugh, too.

"I'm going to go before I hurt her," Christian says teasingly. He smiles at Charlotte and she can tell he's trying not to worry lest she worry, too. "Have fun and check in with me and tell me everything."

"I will. Bye, Christian."

"Bye, Char," Christian says with a small wave and he's out the door with a final glance.

Once Christian is gone, Charlotte feels an uncomfortable feeling settle in her chest. She knows she's safe here with Ana and Kate, but something doesn't feel right without Christian.

I'll chalk it up to separation anxiety, Charlotte decides as she looks to Ana and Kate who are looking at her.

Kate grins. "So...how about getting down to business?"

…

" ** _That's a horrendous shade of purple."_**

Charlotte sits with her arms crossed, watching as Kate sorts through every shade of purple she bought. She's not sure why Kate went and raided the store for every kind of nail polish there was, but Kate has it all.

"It's such a pretty color! Do something pretty for once," Kate says. She holds up a purple-pink nail polish with flecks of glitter throughout and it makes Charlotte want to set the contents on fire.

Charlotte shakes her head and Kate huffs, going through her collection to pull out another color. "What about this?"

Charlotte frowns once again. The color is a dark purple and she doesn't appreciate it. "It looks like they collected Barney the Dinosaur puke. No."

Kate gives her a look. "You're tough to please, aren't you?"

"No, I'm not. You just choose ugly nail polish colors," Charlotte says as combs through the several colors and emerges victorious with a lavender color. "This, however, is gorgeous. The color is subtle and soft."

"You're just too plain...but whatever you want. But next time I get to choose. Got it?"

"Got it," Charlotte says as she extends her hand to Kate who sets to painting her nails.

Then, Charlotte hears Ana scream from the kitchen. " _Kate, stop heckling Charlotte! You're going to scare her with your pushy-ness."_

"It's not my fault your boyfriend's daughter has the fashion style of an old woman," Kate says, carefully painting Charlotte's index finger's nail. She smiles all the while and Charlotte rolls her eyes, but she starts to laugh, too.

Ana steps into the room and comes carrying three drinks. "Don't worry, Charlotte. She's always this mean to everyone."

Charlotte chuckles and accepts the drink from Ana- iced tea with lemon. "Thank you. And Elliot is easily as bad as Kate. This isn't new."

After some laughter from Kate and Ana, they fall silent. Charlotte sips at her tea and allows Kate to paint her nails. Then, while her nails dry, Charlotte watches Kate paints Ana's nails a navy blue.

"Thank you for keeping me for the weekend," Charlotte manages finally. She smiles weakly at Ana and Kate who smile back at her. "It's boring being on house arrest."

"Don't thank us," Ana says. She gives Charlotte a knowing look and Charlotte wonders how much Christian has told Ana about her. "Given what's happening, you definitely need a weekend away."

Charlotte takes another drink of her tea and releases a breath. "So...how much news coverage have you seen? I know you must have some questions."

There's no used in avoiding the elephant in the room. Charlotte doesn't want to talk about it, but she knows that Ana and Kate have a right to know about some of this.

"Is he, like, your real dad or something?" Kate asks, giving her a sad look.

Charlotte nearly strangles on an ice cube. " _Jesus Christ, no_. He's just someone I have the misfortune of knowing."

"And he's still out there?" Ana questions worriedly. It isn't concern for herself, but for Charlotte. "He just waltzed into your apartment...like someone meant to let him in."

"Yes, he is. It's a scary thought because that man made my life so horrible when I was little." Charlotte releases a shuddering breath, determined to keep herself together because she knows that she can be strong. "And Christian and I wonder the same thing a lot… He got in without any problem. Something just isn't adding up."

There's a long, tense pause and the tension is so tight that it could be sliced by a knife. It takes a few moments, but Kate finally lightens the mood with her happy attitude.

"In any case, I won't let that pervert step anywhere near you," Kate announces, playfully tossing a bottle of red nail polish to her. "I know fifty ways to cut his jugular with a paperclip. Now, make yourself useful and paint my nails."

Charlotte snorts inelegantly and sets to work, carefully running the brush across Kate's nails. "Yes, _Queen_."

…

 _ **Charlotte listens to the sound of Christian rambling over the phone.**_

"Yes-yeah… Christian, I'm fine- promise." Charlotte tries to say something to appease the man. The moment she called, she didn't receive a, "Hello." Instead, Christian began a ten minute questioning spree and Charlotte couldn't get in a word edgewise. She just listened to him ramble until he finally had to stop to breathe.

" _I'm sorry, Charlotte. I'm just nervous about everything and you being so far away. Right now I'm struggling to keep myself from driving to get you,"_ Christian says and he sounds anxious. Charlotte knows that he may nearing an anxiety attack that comes far and few between.

"I'm doing fine, Christian," Charlotte says, trying to convince him of her safety. "Do you want to know what we did tonight?"

Over the phone, Charlotte hears Christian expel a deep breath to recollect himself. She's glad to have now redirected the entire conversation back to their activities. " _That would be nice. Have you behaved yourself?"_

Charlotte chuckles. "No, Christian, I've been an animal. The neighbors just called campus police on us."

" _Haha, aren't you just funny?"_

"Seriously, though- we done our nails and called in take out. We just watched a movie a little while ago," Charlotte says. "Then, we just chatted. Typical girl conversation."

Christian sighs and Charlotte can tell he's happy. " _I'm glad you're having fun, Char. You definitely needed this."_

"Thank you," Charlotte says, her eyes flickering towards the clock. On the clock, Charlotte can see the hands inching towards midnight. "I'll be going. It's getting late and I doubt the girls will stay up any longer."

" _Yes- and you need to sleep, too. Don't stay up too late, but if something happens and you can't sleep, I'm a phone call away."_

"Okay. I'll let you go, Christian."

" _Bye, Char. I love you."_

"Love you too, Dad. Bye."

Charlotte ends the call and places her phone on the couch next to her. She then looks over her shoulder to watch as Ana walks towards her holding blankets and sheets and pillows.

"Because I doubt you want to share a bed with me or Kate, I figured you'd sleep better in here," Ana says. She places the stack of linens next to Charlotte and offers a small smile. "I'm a cover hog and Kate will try to kill you in her sleep."

Charlotte chuckles. "That will be just fine. Thank you." She rises to her feet and places her phone on the table, helping Ana with the sheets and pillows.

Once her makeshift bed has been made, Charlotte sits down and Ana joins her. "Thank you again, Ana, for letting me stay. I've enjoyed myself so far."

"No problem," Ana says. "I figured you needed the weekend away and we definitely need to know one another better. I don't want you to think badly of me, Charlotte."

Charlotte offers a crooked smile. "I've never thought illy of you. I've just had a hard time with women...anyone who would try to be a mother to me. Christian is all I have, and it's scary to think about him leaving. It's easier to push someone away and keep myself from getting hurt."

Ana just hugs her and Charlotte hugs the woman back. "I wouldn't dream about taking Christian from you or making you hurt, Charlotte."

Charlotte releases Ana and smiles. "I know, Ana."

She doesn't say much after because Kate breezes into the living room. The blonde is dressed in her pajamas and her hair is pulled haphazardly into a bun.

"I'm going to bed, so I'll see you in the morning, Charlotte," Kate says.

"'Night, Kate," Charlotte chimes back and Kate bids goodnight to Ana before disappearing into her room.

Ana gives Charlotte a worried look. "Are you sure you're okay in here by yourself? I have extra room in my bed if you don't want to stay."

"I'm fine," Charlotte says. "Go on to bed and I'll be fine in here."

"Whatever you say," Ana says. "But I'll be around to check on you, later."

Charlotte mock salutes Ana as she gets beneath the blankets. "Yes, Captain."

Ana rolls her eyes and smiles all the while. "Goodnight, Charlotte."

"Goodnight, Ana."


End file.
